##VIDEO ID:qjvEbPrIwj0## e e e e e e e good afternoon welcome to the December 12th 2024 board meeting before we start the meeting I would like to share a few safety points and next meeting announcements please note that the primary exit and entrance to the auditorium is the door which you use to enter this afternoon if you're leaving the room please use this door the restrooms are outside the auditorium doors men's to your right and women's to your left during the meeting we ask that you keep all aisles and exits clear if you need any assistance during the meeting please wave the attention of one of our security officers mark your calendars for upcoming meetings the next agenda review committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday January 15 2025 at 10:30 a.m. the next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday January 30th 2025 at 10:30 a.m. cpsb.org will be updated to include upcoming meet committee meeting dates and we are excited to share that the boardroom Renovations at 42 West Madison Street are anticipated to be completed for the January meetings both the January agenda review committee meeting and board meeting will be held at 42 West Madison Street Garden level boardroom for details on how to register to speak or observe the meetings and to learn about speaker Lottery process please visit the Chicago Board of Education website at CPS boe.org if you have any questions about the registration or public participation please contact the board office for assistance finally on behalf of the board office we'd like to express our sincere gratitude to the Chief Operating Officer facilities and Safety and Security teams for their exceptional efforts in preparing Coleman office as a temporary meeting site following the board office flooding in late June your quick response and dedication have been invaluable to ensuring the continuity of our operations we look forward to returning to 42 West Madison Street for our meetings thank you for joining us today vice president Garner we are now ready for you to begin the meeting good afternoon everyone welcome to the Chicago Board of Education meeting today is December 12th 2024 we are holding today's board meeting in the auditorium at the Coleman at Co the Coleman office 4655 South deborn Street I would like to note that the board members honorary student board member at the end here and Senior leadership are physically present in the auditorium registered speakers may join us in person or virtually if they opt to do so I am Mary Gardner vice president Mary Gardner on behalf of my fellow board members thank you for joining me today the regular meeting of Thursday December 12th 2024 it's hereby call to order Madame secretary please call the RO thank you member Pope present member blae present member yanz present member Bautista we have member Bautista on the line she's joining us virtually by a zoom member Thomas present member Harden present vice president Gardner President we have uh seven members present we have a quorum I'd also like to recognize Pedro Martinez chief executive officer Ruchi Verma general counsel bdana shikuma Chief education officer Charles Mayfield Chief Operating Officer and Carolina Ki honorary student board member thank you the order of this meeting will be as follows follows oath of office for our new board member CEO remarks committee updates public participation presentation options of aaro school discussion of public agenda items vote on public agenda items closed session we convene from closed session and adjournment board members we will begin today's meeting with the oath of office office for board member Sean Harden I name of board member do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of the Board of Education of the city of Chicago in accordance with the Constitution of the United States the con constitution of the state of Illinois and all applicable federal and state laws to the best of my ability Sean hard you Sly swear that I will Faithfully discharge the duties of the office of of the board education for the city of Chicago accordance with the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the state of Illinois and all appable federal and state LA to I further swear that I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as faithful protector of the school district's assets I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees I shall recognize that a board member has no legal Authority as an as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a vote at a public board meeting I further swear that I shall respect taxpayer interest by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets I show encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees I shall recognize that board member has no legal Authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by vote at a public board meeting I shall abide by the decisions of the board while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels I shall abide by the Board of Education operating procedures manual and board rules and policies I shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety which could result from my position and will not use my board members ship for personal gain or publicity I shall Foster with the board extensive participation of the community formulate goals Define outcomes and set the course for Chicago Public Schools I shall abide by the decisions of the board while retaining the right to see changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive CH channels I shall abide by the Board of Education operating procedures manual and board rules and policies I shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearances of impropriety which could result from my position and will not use my board membership for personal gain or publicity I shall Foster with the board extensive participation of the community formulate goals Define outcomes and set the course for Chicago Public Schools I shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law I shall serve as a key Advocate on behalf of students and our community schools to advance the vision for Chicago public schools and I shall strive to work together with the chief chief executive officer to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created fostering Excellence for every student in the areas of student learning and well-being as well as healthy safe engaging and academically challenging School experiences that prepare each student for college career and Civic life I shall assist in establishing a structure and environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions affecting the education of our children and compliance with state law I shall serve as a key Advocate on behalf of students and our community schools to advance the vision for Chicago public schools and I shall strive to work together with the chief executive officer to lead the school district towards fulfilling the vision the board has created fostering Excellence for every student in the areas of student learning and well-being as well as healthy safe engaging and academically challenging School experiences that prepare each student for college career and Civic I would like to introduce and welcome our new board member Sean Harden board member Harden would you like to say a few words certainly I'm excited to join this this board uh this is an incredible opportunity and I'm looking forward to doing great things and moving the vision of the school board ahead right board members do you have any comments number pop yes I'd like to welcome you and say that it's great to have a new member to work with and collaborate with on behalf of our students and families thank you welcome um this is going to be fun we've got real opportunity here there's lots of room for Change and there's lots of great people that you you'll find that you're going to be supported by um and and I I welcome your ideas and I look forward to working with you great thank you Beno welcome welcome thank you my mic is out but I'd like to welcome you as well and I look forward to working with you thank you very much board member Harden welcome aboard thank you vice president Garner before you proceed for the record note that the following board report is being withdrawn RS7 resolution by the Board of Education of the city of Chicago regarding the dismissal of Antonio Ross contract principal for High Park Career Academy High School thank you very much for that CEO Martinez we are ready for your remarks thank you Madame vice president again welcome for member Harden thank you I want to thank our Board of Education members as well as our Educators staff officials and families who are joining us tonight I know this is a very busy time of year so the fact you made time to join us for this meeting shows how dedicated you are to the high quality public education of our City's children I want to start tonight by reminding everyone that this Sunday December 15 is the final deadline to submit go CPS applications for the 2025 2026 school year as a reminder gocps is the platform for our students and families that they can use to explore all of the academic option options from our excellent neighborhood schools to our Magnet School options to our selective enrollment and charter high schools I thank our office of access and enrollment for their flexibility in keeping the application period open longer longer this year I hope that this extra time has allowed more students to carefully explore the many academic options that are available to them again all gocps uh applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm this Sunday December 15 families can visit or apply at uh at cps.edu to compete to complete their application again apply. cps.edu to complete their application I want to briefly touch on a topic that I know many in our district are concerned about the targeting of certain groups by the incoming presidential Administration I want you to know that I share these concerns and to assure you that we are taking action after the 20 after the 2016 election the CPS CEO at that time were closely with the mayor uh with the mayor sister agencies and organizations on a comprehensive response to protect student students families and staff this time is no different in fact earlier today senior leaders from CPS met with City officials to discuss strategies we are committed to partnering with the mayor's office our city uh sister agencies including the Chicago Police Department and organizations that serve our families this is an all Hands-On deck effort to support children and provide them with a safe and welcoming educational environment we will be communicating detailed guidance and information to school leaders staff and families in the coming weeks I am proud that CPS is a district that has strong protections already on the books for our students and I want to thank our board members for the resolution last month we affirming these protections I also want to remind everyone the CPS does not ask for the immigration status of students or their families and we do not coordinate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement otherwise known as ice but we are not taking this these threats lightly and be assured that we will stand strong to protect our school communities from harm I now want to share an update on the progress we're making around student transportation I'm excited to share that earlier this week CPS launched the first phase of our Hub stop pilot program as a reminder this is a program where certain CPS schools act as pickup and drop off points for general education students who are eligible for bus transportation on Monday December 9th we officially open Hub stops at 35 CPS schools these Hub stops were selected using the CPS opportunity index a tool that is helping us to prioritize transfer ation for students who face significant barriers to opportunity our first collection of Hub stops are now serving 331 general education students I want to thank the uh CPS Transportation team uh Chief Mayfield for making this initial launch a success as well as our bus monitors who have been on hand each day to answer parent questions and direct students to the correct buses finally I want to thank the staff and communities at our Hub stop schools for welcoming new families to their campuses and assisting US during this transition we are excited that this program is underway and we will continue to have Hub stops as Buzz capacity allows all always being sure provide to prioritize our students who are furthest from opportunity and I'm pleased as I as I am as as pleased as I am with this progress I also want to remind everyone that our District's top priority remains getting all students with disabilities who qualify for transportation and bus rout as quickly as possible on November 1st I reported that 254 students with disabilities were waiting to be placed on a bus ride for the current school year by the way that was at that time a record low today that this number is 36 request for bus service comes come all year round in our go remains to have students with disabilities on bus routs within 10 days of their transportation requests when that is not possible CPS provides a financial stiping of $25 for every day that students attend school until we're able to get them on a bus route we will continue working to provide bus transportation to as many students as possible as the school year continues and I'm glad to report significant progress in that area today I'll now turn to the seven schools that the assetto charter school network has announced it plans to close at the end of the school year we will have a more comprehensive update on this situation a little later in today's meeting but so for now I'll simply say that since F since we first heard about this decision from assetto on October 9th the same day that assetto announced it to families CPS has been working hard to support impacted families and staff I want to thank Chief portfolio officer of of fonso Carona who will be presenting later in his team for being so proactive on this front immediately engaging the assetto leadership collecting Financial records and other information to better understand the reason for these proposed closures and developing options and contingencies in case that this board wanted to shift away from the district's previous practice for Charter closures on November 1st we were asked by this board for options thankly our team was well prepared for this and options have now been presented directly to the board we look forward to presenting these options publicly today and we look forward to receiving the board's guidance on how the district should proceed at the end of the day we all want the same thing we want every student in Chicago to find a home in an educational environment that will meet their needs and give them a sense of belonging we will continue working with everyone involved until the situation is resolved and I'll turn to our District's ongoing negotiations with our partners at the Chicago Teachers Union our bargaining teams are now meeting daily and I'm glad to report that progress is being made on several issues and that we and that we now know uh that we now know our CTU priorities most recently around strengthening strengthening Investments around Athletics and in our schools for example CPS has now committed to uh maintaining our athletic directors at every high school and we have restructured the stiens paid to our coaches to make them competitive with was being offered in other Chicago area school districts these and other investments will result in the athletic in an athletic investment of nearly $21 million in addition to what we're doing uh today which more than triples what was provided for for athletics in the last contract productive conversations are also happening in other key areas I want to thank our CTU partners for presenting revised list of their major priorities at the start of last week this has resulted in constructive conversations around key areas like salary increases additional Staffing and we appreciate the movement that we have seen from CTU in these areas beyond the high cost items we continue to negotiate on all areas of the contract to support a rigorous joyful and Equitable daily learning experience for our students CPS remains committed to protecting our students instructional time maintaining strong teacher evaluation systems providing all students with a high quality curriculum and maintaining the ability of our principles to set the instructional vision and maintaining the day-to-day operations of their schools I am encouraged by the steud progress we continue to make and feel hopeful that we can work together to reach an agreement that provides a rigorous joyful and Equitable daily learning experience for all students while regard while rewarding the hard work of so many of our talented educators and we as we've done since negotiations began CPS will continue to provide all of our stakeholders with regular updates on the progress of these negotiations finally today I want to remind everyone that winter break is just over a week away I know that everyone is looking forward to the holiday celebrations and and the time to spend with friends and family but we also want to make sure that our students have plenty of opportunities to stay safe and engaged during the break from school one great option is our safe even sites many of our many of which will be open throughout the winter break these are welcoming environments where kids can stay warm and have fun with their peers at no cost I encourage All Families to visit the district's website at cps.edu for locations and schedules of our safe haven sites our partners at the CH the CH Park District are also hosting several winter break camps for students families can get more information and sign up at the Chao Park District website I know that everyone in our CPS Community has a safe I I I hope that everyone in our CPS Community has has a safe and enjoyable winter break I look forward to seeing everyone back in the classroom ready to learn on Monday January 6th thank you this concludes my my prepar remarks thank you ma'am all right thank you Mr CEO any board members or any questions all right well thank you very much um okay committee updates we have no committee Updates this month uh we are now ready to proceed with today's public part participation section all right thank you for joining to share your comments with the board and compliance with the Illinois open meetings ACT public participation sometimes referred to as public comments is the portion of the board meeting or hearing that grants District holders stakeholders the opportunity to address the board with their concerns and comments note that public particip ipation is the time for the board and CPS senior leadership to listen and hear from you rather than a time for dialogue with board members during or after your remarks while we can't discuss Personnel matters public participation is a key component of transparent governance and it provides us as board members as well as senior leadership an opportunity to listen to everyone who has signed to speak this board takes Equity of voice serious ly while we may not address your comments directly during public participation CPS leadership is always present at our meetings and are able to address concerns as followup after the meeting as a district and a board we also have many other spaces for authentic dialogue for example each and every one of our board members host Board office hours so that we can have a conversation please use our website CPS be e.org if you want to meet with a board member during office hours we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with board members outside of a board meeting thank you for your attention and consideration as a reminder Union Representatives will be allotted five minutes to speak before the before public participation and any elected official will be allotted five minutes to speak after the conclusion of public participation board secretary please please share the rules of public participation thank you vice president Gardner members of the public who register to speak were given the option to attend in person or via an electronic format for those who prefer to attend via an electronic format they were given information to access this meeting by dialing a number and using their phone we did this so that speakers with limited or no access to the internet or who may have weak internet internet connection could still participate using their phone also members of the public May submit written comments for Board of Education meetings via the written comments form on the board's website at cpsb.org or mail to one North Dearborn s950 written comments received between the day the public agenda was posted through 5:00 pm the day after the Board of Education meeting will be submitted to the board and published within five business days on our website at cpsb.org speakers please listen while I provide directions for public participation I will call your name and number when it is your turn to speak for speakers joining us virtually as a reminder to unmute please enter star six once you hear your name please state your name for the record I will then start the two-minute timer when there are 30 seconds remaining I will inform you so that you can proceed to conclude your remarks to allow for the next speaker to begin for anyone standing with the speaker please stand along the glass partitions to keep the aisles clear thank you vice president Gardner before we begin calling speakers from the speakers list we do have Union reps who would like to address the board we'll begin with Stacy Davis Gates CTU president who is here in person e ladies and gentlemen absolutely kids and family good evening good evening good evening good evening good evening good evening good evening um I am happy to be before this board of ed education I believe this is the first meeting where I have addressed uh all of the people who are now board members congratulations on your appointment and I am honored to speak before all of you um it is remarkable to see a board of people that I would run into at the grocery store um so thank you for volunteering to give Chicago students what they deserve um thank you my name is sty Davis Gates and I am a mother of three black children and a high school history teacher much is usually said about me without my permission and with my permission I need to tell you that the members that are here today are here today because they want to build the school Chicago students deserve and they want to build it with their collective bargaining agreement like they build it every day when they punch into one of our many beautiful School communities they want to do it with the Chicago public schools with the Board of Education with the CEO with his senior leadership team because that's the only way we're going to get this done and we did that in very intentional fashion with respect to the contract proposals that we put forward in fact our contract proposals were a copy and paste from The District's fiveyear strategic plan it was a copy and paste from the mayor's transition report guaranteeing us a place of yes right we want to change culture culture where we are prioritizing the needs of our children in the Chicago public schools and what does that mean it means that the CEO says a lot of things that are great about our district and I agree with him because a lot of those things were born in the 2019 contract agreement many many of those things were born out of a struggle on a picket line things like a restorative justice coordinator so we are not um suspending our children but we are teaching our children how to make better decisions things like more Tas to lower class size because we do know it makes sense to have a lower class size for our young people things like making sure that we have a social worker and a nurse in our school buildings because that's the way it should be and so what we want to do with this contract is build on those things and there is like profound urgency on building on those things right now because there is a project that will be Unleashed on this country in 2025 that will contest our ability to have a Department of Education that protects title n which means that the sexual assaults will no longer have a Clearing House of accountability because that department might not exist so we got to do it here it also means our special education students and the minutes and the resources and the supports that they have there's no Clearing House or back stop for that anymore and the Chicago public schools has a history a legacy in fact of having way too many black kids in it who are not getting what they deserve and so this contract seeks to protect them and other special education students and make sure that we enshrine those protections because at least we will have workers who are willing to stand up to their bargaining agreement and we're going to need workers and everyone else in this moment because our queer kids our transgender kids our queer staff and faculty and transgender staff and faculty are going to need a document that will be backed up by all of these people who love Chicago's youth so I am not here to be polemic I am here here to ask this board of education to make a directive to the senior leadership team and to the CEO of this District settle this contract before Donald Trump is inaugurated settle this contract so we can have a protective force a force field over a district that represents the tapestry of this country you got black kids you got workingclass kids you got white kids you got immigrant kids you got Latin kids you got every kid in the world transgender kids I had a trans you have 30 seconds remaining thank you who protects our young people the people out in this Gallery is who protect who they are who protects our young people but we're gonna have to do it collectively together and that strategic plan and the mayor's transition report needs an implementation document our contract is the implementation document because these people are the only people going to implement it so I implore you as a board of education to work with us come to the table so we can get a contract before Christmas and so we can start building the force field around this district and our young people that they so deserve I'm not asking for the politics and a polarity because quite frankly if you believe in our young people we are on the same team the Real Enemy are those who drafted a project to unleash Terror on our young people in our country those are our enemies we are Partners thank you thank you the next union rep is Caroline Rutherford CTU Charter division division fight chair who is here in person good evening members of the board and CEO Martinez my name is Caroline Rutherford I am the vice chair of ctu's Charter division as well as the chair of the Council of CTU members at the asero charter schools I have been with the assero network for 15 years as an Elementary art teacher and I have never been so disappointed in my Charter network as I am today yesterday asero H held their first board meeting since they made the announcement on October 9th that they would close seven schools at the end of this school year we all know that Aero did not show up last week to address this board despite your resolution to asking asking them to do so I want you to know you are not the only ones they're ignoring 20 people spoke to the assero CEO and the board last night including students a third grade student at ceros asked what will happen to my friends will I get to see them again after you close my school what about my teachers I love my teachers eighth grade students asked the board and the CEO to let their younger siblings have the same experience they got to have and graduate at their Beloved School and Aero CEO Rich Rodriguez refused to say anything to hundreds of parents Educators and students standing in the room before him last night he deferred his comments until after public comment but then immediately adjourned the meeting after when everyone spoke and left so asero had said nothing Rich Rodriguez should no longer be trusted with the future of any children he is a coward it is not a sarrow that makes our schools special it is the families the students and the Educators in those schools that work together every day that is what needs to be preserved I am standing here today with parents and students and teachers from across our schools to thank the board for listening to us and prioritizing keeping our schools open but we cannot wait any longer it has been over two months since the announce announcement and these schools that these schools May potentially close and we have been fighting every single day for our students we cannot wait until January for a decision Alderman Vias does not speak for the parents of the Santiago Community when he says wait he should be ashamed of himself for asking for you all to wait parents and students deserve an answer now and there are several things that make this decision decision urgent gocps deadline is on Saturday December 15th thank you for the extension but we are still waiting we don't have an answer and the clock is ticking and there are registration fees at some schools that begin in January and most importantly we need to know how to plan for our future our students and families deserve to celebrate this holiday season knowing what their future will be and not worrying about what will happen to their friends and teachers all we want for ch is to keep our schools open some questions I have gathered from parents and students in the asero community would anyone allow this to happen to White students in a white Community what impact would these closures have on the trust towards CPS and the latine communities members of the asero management team also took the microphone away from Alderman Byron sicho Lopez and refusing to let him speak until we demanded that they do so if this is how Aero management treats elected officials imagine how they will treat the newly elected school board thank you for taking the time in your meeting today to review the options presented to you youve all agreed time and time again that closing schools is detrimental to our communities CEO Martinez you echoed the sentiments of the board at the November 1st board meeting and said these schools should not close the only path forward is if the Board of Education chooses the option that keeps our schools open tell not to close our schools but if they refuse to do what is right then you have the opportunity to do what is needed to protect our students and keep them open as CPS schools parents have been to every single CPS board meeting since October 9th they are reputed are repeatedly communicated that what matters most is keeping our schools open keeping our students together with each other and with their teachers if aarah won't do it then you need to do it and do it now the recommendation from hundreds of parents teachers and students that we have been organizing with in this fight is one thing our schools to remain open we need action now thank you so much thank you for yours thank you and oero is not here the next union rep is Diane Palmer SEIU president who is here in person thank you um good evening CEO Martinez vice president Gardner and the rest of the board thank you very much for hearing me this evening I'm Diane Palmer president of SEIU Local 73 we represent 35,000 workers across Illinois and Northwest Indiana in CPS we represent 12,000 members crossing guards custodians security officers bus AES sub Seekers and sub bus AIDS and special educ education classroom assistance as I am sure this board is aware we have been in the press this past week regarding our Seekers let me make clear that we value and respect the leadership and our relationship with the Chicago Teachers Union at the same time we cannot allow another Union to negotiate negotiate away our bargaining unit work water down our collective bargaining agreement or potentially harm the special education students that our Seekers serve Seekers provide invaluable behavioral emotional and physical support to special education children and CPS to ensure that their faith rights are protected they are included in the classroom and our successful members of society limiting Seeker work to toiling and feeding minimizes the critical roles they play in CPS our members fought hard for the last two contract cycles for the protections and train training we were able to codify in the agreement we spent years advocating for stricter guard rails for when Seekers can be utilized for other duties gaining access to IEP meetings mandatory new hire trainings deescalation and restraint training and more our members were determined to use our contract as a tool to add protections for special education stud students and limit flexibility our Union has sent the district aason assist letter and has every intention of leaving no stone unturned should the district negotiate negotiate away our bargaining unit positions the threat of a trump presidency presents a grave concern for the Department of Education and Title One protections now is the time to add flexib now is not the time to add flexibility to special education services instead we must work to protect and defend the restrictions seiu73 negotiated in our most recent contract the district must focus on protecting special education students immigrants lgbq Tia and all the vulnerable populations within CPS we stand with the goals the CTU has laid out for enshrining Sanctuary status and all other protections regarding vulnerable student populations we ask that this board to follow your predecessors in understanding our position and supporting not only Seekers but bed Advocates and the special education student population thank you so much thank you for your comments thank you the next union rep is Troy levier cpaa president who is here in person before we get started I want to apologize we don't have a chance it's just me president and three principles who all want the same thing you all want good evening board members CEO chief kumova chief Mayfield and all of my beautiful colleagues here and out there over the past several months I've stood before you here and I've traveled to Springfield to advocate for binding arbitration rights that would ensure that the professional life of a principal is negotiated by principles in collaboration with the Board of Education rather than dictated to principles by the board or by contracts negotiated between the board and other labor Partners without our advice or consent tonight I want to connect these priorities to a broader message one that's rooted in the values that guide the Chicago principles and administrators Association the values of collaboration and sharing our Union has emphasized the importance of a principal cont cont that shares power with other partners rather than dictating to them or being dictated to by them because collaboration and power sharing lead to the best outcomes for our students and that contract I spoke of tonight there'll be a news story about John th Michelle Brumfield who were both dismissed from CPS because of the actions of their subordinates but the subordinates got clear turns out the district set them up but John th and Michelle Brumfield are still without a job and their names have been ruined by actions of this district and we stand in support of th in brunfield we have to solve it together meaningful collaboration requires consistent and respectful communication not occasionally but always while we may not always control what's communicated about us we do control what's communicated between us that requires us to create spaces where all relevant voices are heard disagreements are approached constructively and Student Success is connected with the environmental conditions that adults need to ensure that success I want to take a moment to address my brother coo Pedro Martinez it's important to remember that in this work there are no permanent allies or adversaries opportunities abound to find the common ground from which to serve students and families while we may have different perspectives or priorities at times our focus should always be on what's the best for students in the schools we represent I'm sure you must know that your proposal to cut 3,000 School staff and up to 66 assistant principles who serve our children and families is not in the best interest of those children or their families still we like those of you here have in common are committed to working with you and other labor Partners to find to find a solution that puts students first and we can't put students first if we put the people who serve them last that's teachers that's Seekers that's principles all of us I hope to do the same and establish some common ground with my sister president Stacy Davis Gates please know that my critiques are never personal they are aimed at specific Provisions in your proposed contract that affect our shared goals negatively with no intent on your part principal can see things that sometimes you all cannot see which is why we should speak by nature of our Provisions Provisions like 1.2 for you know I was real quiet when your president spoke I was respectful Provisions like 1-24 attempt to ice the principal and the local school council out of critical decisions related to curriculum grading and teacher professional growth and concentrate decisionmaking power in little known committee controlled by teachers a committee which states state law only gives recommendation power not decisionmaking power because the people on that committee don't have the training expertise and Broad Viewpoint and perspective of the principle because they're not stuck in a classroom the instructional leadership team or the local school council if the board agrees to ctu's proposal however well- intended they will reproduce the imbalance of dictatorial power relation ships that CTU fought so hard to topple and I love them for that but this proposal which concentrates power with teachers rather than shares it with the rest of us is not the answer teachers excuse me teachers have been left out a critical decision making but the answer is not to consolidate teacher power in isolation of principles and local school councils the answer is to create systems that establish regular Communications power sharing and decision makings parents UST with UST us with their children every day thank you let's not make that trust additional dis a difficult decision by in in inviting the infighting created in part by isolation and fear many of us myself included our CPS parents and CPS graduates and we want all all want our school system to succeed each School in that system is Guided by the the expertise and dedication of a team principles know better than anyone how every piece of that puzzle from the custodian to the teachers to the chief plays a vital role in our success it's a principal's job to bring it all together to create the effective harmonious safe environments for Learning and growth I believe a system as a whole can learn something from how principles are able to do this year in and year out please so let's ensure that the entire system succeeds by emulating what principles and teachers do in their schools because the only way for the only way to truly succeed is together as equals and that's what we hope to accomplish at the principal Association thank you thank you for your comments vice president Gardner we are now ready to call speakers from the speakers list we'll begin with Leila ATU viea speaker number two who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute hello my name is Lila thank you for having me I am from Deborah Elementary School and here is my speech teenage self harmm about 17% of teen self harm in today's world teens today tend to cope with anxiety anger stress depression and other emotions with self harm self harm can be cutting hitting scratching or burning your skin self harm can also lead to thoughts of suicide suicide isolation low self-esteem and guilt I know a handful of teens who have relied on self harm to deal with their emotions I'm sure you do as well you just don't know it with listen to these two quotes from Young minds.org I was doing it for the sense of relief it provided here's another at school I would find excuses not to do PE so I wouldn't have to undress in front of the other girls revealing my scars that isn't it that this is how today's teenss think that this is how your sibling your friend teammate or your classmate might think now now I would like you to imagine a world where this issue was in fact not an issue at all if you are someone who is currently struggling with this imagine a world where we weren't given reasons to damage our own skin imagine a world where we weren't afraid to talk to our parents about how we felt imagine a world where we didn't have to deal with our anger by marking our own body imagine a world where we didn't have to walk into school just to hear another false rumor about ourselves imagine a world where we didn't have to wait weeks maybe even months just to talk to a school counselor about how we felt imagine a world where our friends hadn't laughed about self harm in front of our faces maybe not knowing that we had just relax the night before sounds like maybe our cuts and our Burns wouldn't be there would they and don't mind wouldn't you have 30 seconds remaining nothing I just said is impossible to fix it doesn't take anything to be a kind-hearted person as a friend be the highlight of your friend's day you should be the reason that they forget self- harm is an option and as a sibling talk to your sister or brother be their best friends and as a parent I ask that you genuinely ask that if your child is okay and if it's not genuine then don't ask at all as a community we need to let teens know that there are other ways to deal with anger stress anxiety and depression as a community we need to mature and grow better Kinder Hearts so teens don't have to damage their own skin anymore my name is Leila a and I say choose kindness thank you for your comments our next two speakers are regarding CTU Eric brol speaker number one and David prid speaker number 10 both are here in person hello my name is Eric brol I am a preschool teacher at Belmont craigan Elementary School and I'm here to talk about a joyful school day and curricular autonomy our school is blessed to have a really large preschool program we have a tradition of pursuing the Regio Amelia approach uh to early childhood education so what this means is we use an emergent curriculum so teachers will develop a curriculum that's unique to each class in response to their own passions and their students interests creating a long creating long-term studies that tell uh a story that about the unique identity of each group of children now I'm here to tell you that doing teaching and learning in this way requires a lot of planning and collaboration amongst educators uh this is time we simply do not have enough of Veteran Educators in our school lament that we cannot do the kind of work um that we once were able to do before CPS cut Educators prep time and K througha teachers at my school also often talk about their desire to create engaging lessons for their students uh but they lack the time and autonomy to do so now last Friday CPS sent an email that misled and slandered our hardworking Educators suggesting that our need for additional time in ele in elementary school somehow comes at the expense of students learning let me say clearly This Is A Lie we are proposing that this time be created by providing more access to Fine Arts physical education and libraries not by cutting instructional time these are things that children and wealthy neighborhoods and districts have access to and I thought that CPS believed in equity I heard that CPS wants learning to be joyful now our early childhood committee proposed that students through second grade access to intentionally planned self-directed play we know from a mountain of Child Development research that this play-based learning is what is best for our youngest Learners so why has CPS rejected this proposal to enshrine developmentally appropriate play-based learning in our contract we know the right to play is afforded to affluence students what about our students where is cps's commitment to Joy and Equity slandering teachers in emails to the entire School Community to the entire CPS Community is not leadership thank you we need a contract now thank our next speaker David F speaker 10 I'm David py and in the name of my ancestors Malcolm X Marcus garve and huie Newton members of the Chicago Board of Education as a representative of Chicago Teachers Union and a sponsor of the black student union and a wrestling coach I stand before you today to demand action after months of negotiation it's time to settle on a fair contract for our teachers now Chicago Teachers are the backbone of our education system yet we are consistently undervalued and overworked we deserve Fair pay that reflects our dedication and hard work it is unacceptable that while teachers struggle the CEO Chicago Public Schools is making $320,000 a year the The Proposal of a near 4% by the board fall short of the 9% increase requested by the Chicago Teachers Union this disparity is unjust and disrespectful to the Educators who shape the future generation it is disheartening to see that the city has funds for police bonuses in the face of increasing crime rates yet teachers receive no such compensation the priorities seem skewed when incarceration is prioritized over education the time is now the time for change is now settle the contract immediately and Pay Teachers where we are work it is time to recognize and respect the hard work and dedication of Chicago's teachers and last you have 30 seconds remaining I must address another pressing issue is unjust that teachers are forced to purchase our own sanitizing wipes for our classroom for the burden us financially moreover the meager $250 reimbursement provided by the board for classroom supplies is insufficient and falls short and fails to cover the basic necessities needed to create a conducive learning environment for our students this disparity highlights the lack of support Fork thank you secretary Madam SEC we are going to we're going to take a five minutes our next two speakers are from Falcon M secretary just want to remind everyone in the gallery we want to hear everybody we understand what's Happening Here be but we also want to be respectful of those that have to come to speak and be heard so please please thank you mam secretary thank you vice president our next two speakers are from Falconer Elementary uh Teresa zarati speaker number three who is joining us virtually and rosan Mina speaker number 20 who is also joining us virtually Teresa Z zarati please enter star 6 to unmute [Music] l is she done yes thank you we'll have our Spanish translator uh translate the statement one second because I'm trying to get the camera to work good afternoon board members uh my name is Maria Teresa s and I am I'm mother at the falcon school which covers kinder to sixth grade my statement about the F Conor school is that most parents are interested in the expansion of the school to include seventh and eth grade as chairwoman of the LSC and of the title one pack I represent parents and we believe that this expanion is beneficial to the community and personally to me and my family thank you thank you our next speaker is Rosanna Mania speaker number 20 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good afternoon my name is rosan Mina the reason I would like to address to please address the board members is that I would like f for Falconer to become a prek to 8th grade school I was a former student until fifth grade back in 1999 Falcon will only go up to fifth grade only during this period I suffer from anxiety and my greatest Dro due to the DraStic change in my personal opinion I see its pointless for my son to go to a different school for two years and then switch again put him putting him on stress he suffered from anxiety since since Co this this school year I became a volunteer at Falconer I see Falconer is ready for this change thanks to Mr cosmi he has been working hard for this change to happen he has a plan in place if the change is possible we should break embrace it because it allows us for a potential Improvement and can lead to positive outcomes for in our Student Life please I ask the board to allow Falconer the opportunity to become a prek to an eighth grade school it will help a lot of parents to avoid the morning Rush dropping one student in one school and the other Stu student in a different school can be difficult Falconer staff students and parents are ready for this 20 you have 30 seconds remaining so so our Comm so is our community too thank you thank you for your comments our next group of speakers are from the asero schools Katarina poo speaker number four who is joining us virtually yenia Lopez speaker number eight who is also joining us virtually yanelli Mendoza speaker number 17 who is here in person and Israel Garcia speaker number 25 who was also here in person Karina poo uh speaker number four please enter star 6 to unmute good evening dear members of the CPS board my name is Karina Polo representing a set of Cru in Royal Park I have been a Cru and it was Uno for about 10 years I have two daughters one graduated last year with honors the other one is an a grade with A and B hopefully next year she will be at Cruz continuing her education in high school for that the school must have remained open I advocate and support our teacher staff members and most important our Cru students why does Richard Rodriguez want to close our school at Cruz we have more than 14400 students with a diversity of language that are spoke Cruz is the only school that has kindergarten through 12th grades at Cruz the students are excellent performance at place that Richard Rodriguez doesn't know why because he doesn't care about it he doesn't care about our kids he only care about his pocket and is like that because he cut the teachers P for they don't teach after a school program he don't give them the tools that they need again he doesn't care the future of our kid what why does he want to block the future and success from our children he's not closing just a building number four you have and staff members jobs but more importantly he closing dream Su set friendship from Cru student this decision that he he made on his own is disappointed so please CPS member keep clu Cruise open keep the seven School open and make a decision now thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker yenia Lopez speaker number eight please enter star six to unmute good evening members of the board my name is Yia Lopez and I am here to talk about ways we might be able to save tomayo Elementary school which according to WBEZ the and chalkbeat is both the highest performing School in Gage Park neighborhood and the highest performing School in all of Chicago Charter or otherwise that serves 90% low-income students I want to point out that this board has the power to stop Aero from closing toile by taking action to fully fund us through Bas level funding base funding provides small schools the support they need to operate DPS currently provides base level funding to 98 of its schools including Keller magnet in M Greenwood Yates in Logan Square and brown stem on the near West Side these small schools in more affluent neighborhoods have low enrollment and perform at similar levels when compared to too I urge the board to consider fully funding too with its with this based level funding a second way to save to Mayo would be to allow another Charter network to absorb our school if a Sero isn't interested in keeping their highest performing school open there are other Charter networks that are I urge for members to look into this option what cannot happen What should not happen is nothing I appreciate the support that you have given us this heartbreaking announcement we appreciate being heard now we are asking for you to be the people of action and take the steps needed to save our school I know the advocate to my needs stands before me on this board willing to take the action to keep one of the very best schools in the city open and thriving CEO Pedro Martinez said earlier tonight they're they are working to find a home for our students he fails to recognize that our students have a home they love Tam is home to 250 amazing students thank you thank you for your comments thank you our next speaker yanelli Mendoza speaker number 17 bues Jan for IND byon thank you you gra com we'll have our Translator translate the statement good afternoon my name is janeli mendosa and I am a proud parent of Aeros kasas I stand before you today once again to urge for a resolution to the issues plaguing our community as we've made clear time and time again we are not giving up we are determined parents to care deeply about our children our teachers and our community we are here to fight for answers and get support until and for support until we get them the truth is that we need a resolution now this situation has dragged on for far too long Acera has consistently failed to communicate with us leaving us feeling ignored and disrespected yesterday's board meeting was the perfect example of this lack of respect I was shocked and disappointed by the behavior of asto's board members they sat with blank faces staring at their computers chewing gum and refused to engage with us it was clear that they were more interested in their own agenda than in listening to our concerns what's even more outrageous is that they refused to address us when meeting when the meeting opened instead they invited speakers and then adjourned the meeting without addressing us further blaming the adjournment on the speakers it was a master class in gaslighting and disrespect our children witnessed this Injustice firsthand they saw our elderman Byron sing singure Lopez have his microphone ripped from his hands this is not the kind of behavior we expect from leaders and as a board I know you would not stand for it so we come before you today asking for your support in holding aeto accountable for their actions we urge you to put an end to their tyranny and prioritize the needs of our children and Community we know where aa's ambitious stands I ask you to include you in ours in yours thank you thank you our next speaker is Israel Garcia speaker number 25 bu [Music] no fundamentos uh Martinez vice president Gardner and board members we did not have this statement ahead of time so it could not be translated by our our translator we are going to have them uh review the video and send you the translated statement after the meeting we'll continue with Juliana Cruz speaker number seven my name is Juliana Cruz and I'm a senior at John Hancock College Prep I am here today to ask you to take school funding seriously every day there are kids in school not receiving the support they need in order to succeed academically the reason for this is the lack of funding into public schools according to the century Foundation the US is underfunding K through 12 schools by $150 billion every year this means that 30 million students are being robbed of the resources they need to succeed not only that but those being hurt the most are black and Latino students african- American students are twice as likely as our white counterparts to be in an underfunded school district and 3.5 times more likely to be in a chronically underfunded District as a result there are growing opportunity gaps between the students in adequately funded schools and underfunded Schools students in underfunded schools end up achieving less because of the lack of resources that are available to them the needs of the student are not met oneon-one time becomes impossible as teachers available at schools decrease and class sizes increase computers and Technology become a luxury AP classes become a luxury sports teams and other after school programming becomes a luxury and they end up lacking the resources they need to get higher education and better jobs in the future all students should have the resources they need to be set to succeed and prepared to keep succeeding After High School we've heard City and union leaders ask the state to step in and help with funding as budgets get cut for CPS and we need leaders to keep up with this pressure you need to prioritize the education of our students the kids currently in our public education system are our future those who refuse to have 30 seconds remaining those who refuse to help us students are failing us as opportunity gaps get bigger and educational inequality is exacerbated we can no longer continue to stand by as a child's future gets stunted by a lack of school funding I am fortunate enough to attend a school that offers abundant a courses and has new facilities but not all CPS students are that fortunate I Call On The Board of education and CEO Martinez to fund our schools fairly in order to ensure our students can have access to the resources they need and better the education they're receiving thank you thank you thank you very much our next speaker is Kobe speaker number nine who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute hello can y'all hear me yes please proceed hello uh my name is Kobe gillery um I'm a middle school science teacher at King Elementary in Englewood and I'm here tonight because we are five weeks away from having a racist bigoted president who has expressed his intentions to destroy public education all over the country and has a history of using Chicago specific as a racist dog whistle and many of the specific attacks on the education system that Trump is trying to do through project 2025 are things that the CTU contract proposals are specifically designed to defend against so that's why we need this contract settled by Christmas and quite frankly it's shameful that we don't already have a contract it's been very disappointing um that many of the people who are now paying lip service to resistance against Trump including CEO Martinez have been disparaging teachers for demanding a contract that protects students and their communities um it's disappointing but it's not surprising because we know that Trump is not the only one who wants to defund public education in fact the reason that CTU is the fighting Union that it is right now is because we've been having to fight against the closures of schools in Chicago for a very long time so we know what it looks like when someone to privatize education we know what it's going to take to defend our communities and our students against the attacks that Trump is going to bring in January number n you have 30 seconds remaining never should have had to wait this long to get this contract settled that's why we need this contract settled by Christmas and um we need we need the people who uh who have been standing in the way for such a long time and who have been trying to privatize education for such a long time to move out the way so that we can defend our city from these uh Federal attacks that are coming from the Trump Administration thank you for your time and I hope you all have a good evening thank you for your promise our next two speakers are regarding Transportation saruya serenda speaker number 12 and and Paul wowski speaker number 16 both joining us virtually speaker number 12 please enter star 6 to unmute uh hi uh good evening this is sarya I um My Two children are uh 14 years apart so I have been a parent in CPS for uh since 2008 um and I just uh my concern was rgc Bin issue and I listened uh this dialogue from the beginning and I heard that uh we are um you're proposing the Hub passing system I know it works wonderful for high school kids my daughter uh was in nor college prep and uh the Foster bus comes to the nor College Prep which is three four blocks north from Foster picks up the kids our jobs of the kids in the morning and uh after school but it will not work I for elementary um primary grade kids I have a child and rgc program on in second grade and uh her school is uh Mick Fon it's on Lawrence and uh Walcott Walcott uh the school's entrance is on Walcott and where buses stop and it's a oneway residential streets uh Street and then um the closest uh uh Chicago public transportation bus would be Ashland so if Ashland bus comes to mcferson to pick up the kids and then go back to the ason route my uh 9-year-old 30 seconds remaining yeah my nine-year-old child daughter she has to take she has to change uh three buses to go home so uh the she uh Chicago public transportation is not going to work for primary grade kids I would like to suggest uh returning the uh Chicago yellow bus school bus to primary grade children rgc program because uh we don't live in the neighborhood we live um I live four miles away and her classmates can you please conclude your remarks help me can you please conclude your remarks yes um so I I really uh recommend uh having uh School Bus throughout the rgc program kids to their home from to their home uh the thank you for your remarks yeah our next speaker is Paul wowski speaker number 16 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening board my name is Paul rosi and thank you all for being willing to step into the fry it's a brave Journey you've begun and I hope it will be fruitful for you and the students you serve I offer a special thanks to the board members who were able to meet with CPS parents for buses Alderman and members of the community as the district as the district moves forward restoring transportation to the students that have gone without it for over a year they've not had a secure way to get to school Mr Martinez and Mr Mayfield I am thankful for the Hub stops but it's only 331 students it represents less than 10% of the students who lost Transportation additionally with an average of 11 students on a bus many buses are being sent out 80% empty we can do better let's fill those seats I'm just a parent making a fuss when will you let our kids back on the bus thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Janine wood speaker number 13 as a member of the CTU exec board and a teacher for more than 20 years I've seen firsthand how our contract serves as a shield for our students Educators and communities in my many years at hannes I witnessed the real imp of policies on the ground whether it be the fight for smaller class sizes Sanctuary protections for IM immigrant families or resources to support special education for example the day after Trump was elected I had an immigrant student who cried for 15 minutes in fear that he was going to be transported what could I tell him I'm not a counselor I'm sorry I'm not a counselor but that's something that I do every day for my babies I am fear for those kids that's going to be transported If This Racist guy comes on in 2025 they don't understand how the strong contract can help me to protect them but you c c CEO Martinez should know that one of the most important things our contract does is stand against dangerous National Poli ities policies like Trump's project 2025 which threaten our students rights and our ability to teach the truth whether it's protecting undocumented students from ice or ensuring that we can teach black history black history without fear this contract is a good safeg guarding our schools as sanctuaries for learning inclusion and safety I've seen what happens when we have these tools that we need my kindergarten need a better more joyful day they need more time to play and I and need more time for my prep so I can tailor instruction for each of their particularly needs having more playtime for my students will give them the essential skills they need in order to become a well-rounded student that's why we need this contract finalized now CPS and C CEO Martinez must Step Up meet their obligations and put these Protections in writing writing speak students for our Educators and for our future of public education in Chicago thank you thank you for your comments our next two speakers Jessica rufino speaker number 14 and Lorie Turner speaker number 18 from Illinois network of charter schools good evening and thank you for letting me speak today I'm a little sick so I apologize if you might not be able to hear everything I say uh my name is Jessica rafino I'm a proud pilson Community member and the director of Charter School growth and support at the Illinois network of charter schools tonight I'm here to address the correct several inaccurate statements that were made at last week's meeting first as a pilson parent I want to express my deep disappointment in the political theater that has dominated these meetings it is a disservice to families like mine and families who want CPS to focus on preparing students for Success regarding the misstatements um it was suggested that CPS leadership does not hold Charter Schools accountable this is false charter schools which serve more than 15% of CPS students face stricter accountability measures in district schools in finance operations and academics they submit detailed budgets undergo thorough Audits and participate in extensive evaluations throughout the year and during renewal as someone who has worked at the CPS office of inii and in charter schools I am both I both implemented and experienced the process firsthand regarding compliance some claim that Aero has violated its Charter agreement or state and state law this is also untrue asero has fully complied with all district and legal requirements yet they are being prevented from supporting their families the anguish from parents at these meetings is undeniable I urge the board to prioritize students and families over politics and consider very thoughtfully the option proposed by CPS staff funding mismanagement critics say that charter schools mismanage public funds and drain resources from the district the reality is that Charter Schools receive less funding than district schools especially when enrollment declines while district schools with declining enrollments are are subsidized to remain open some at 35 students for $68,000 each which they deserve um Charter Schools lose funding and must adapt finally I must address the persistent falsehood about privatization charter schools are 5 1c3 nonprofits governed by volunteer boards that include parents Educators community members and in some cases CBS staff members conclude your remarks yes these schools were funded by families by teachers and they continue to be led by teachers excuse me let let us show some respect please they continue to be led by teachers and Educators and community members who serve these schools the privatization narrative is a political tool than you comments thank you so much for your time I also have memos for each one of you thank you for your comments next speaker Lori Turner speaker number 18 excuse me before you get started sir we have to respect our speakers we have to let us respect all of our speakers speakers please otherwise we don't have to take a break and figure out if we can finish this thank you thank you please proceed good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you I'm Lori Turner from the Illinois network of charter schools while I've worked in education and equity for 26 years I only recently joined the inks team as chief of political Affairs and I excited to speak at my first CPS board meeting in this capacity I want to share some initial observations on Charter Public Schools and respond to comments made at recent CPS board meetings yesterday I was at Namaste Cher School in McKinley Park where I was wowed by a strong sense of community I saw an amazing second-year teacher a native Spanish speaker and an alumni of Namaste enthusiastically leading a third grade classroom I met so many teachers who send their own children to Namaste because they want that same sense of community what is happening at Namaste and many other Charter Public Schools across the district is not being discussed here instead last week I listened to allegations about how Charters are run by billionaires charter schools are nonprofit organizations governed by volunteer board members anti- Charter folks have used privatization language for years even though Charters have been started by teachers families Community groups and local nonprofits Namaste was started by three teachers who had a vision for a healthy school Charters have long been inequitably funded Charter Public Schools struggle with the same declining enrollment issues that many district operated schools are facing I'm sorry speaker number 18 you have 30 seconds remain but when Charter lose enrollment we lose funding and there are no billionaires to save us our hope is that we can focus on ensuring that more students are receiving the education that they deserve to reach their full potential we very much look forward to working with the fully seated board in the new year thank you thank you for your comments thank you next speaker is Julie Wexler speaker number 15 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening my name is Julie Wexler and I'm the chair of the interamerican magnet school local school council I'm also the parent of a kindergartener and a second grader that attend the school as many of you are aware the interamerican LSC voted on and approved charges against our principal Juan Carlos SAS on October 9th of this year this was followed by a formal letter sent to CEO Martinez on October 23 on December 6th we received a letter informing us that the law investigation unit is currently reviewing the matter and that no decision would be made with respect to the principal's position until after the conclusion of the review to put this in context we have now asked twice for the removal of our principal pending investigation on August 8th of this year the LSC voted on the lack of confidence in Mr ze's performance a formal letter was sent August 15th with a request for C PS to open an investigation and remove the principal during the investigation we received a reply on August 23rd and were told that the allegations raised were being looked into and in the meantime the network would be implementing interim remedial steps and putting supportive resources in place while we did note an increased presence of the network for which we are appreciative the principal's Behavior continued leaving the LSC no choice but to approve charges on October 9th on November 20th an unauthorized individual entered our school their ability to do to do so is a direct you have 30 seconds remaining protocols implemented by principal Zas to be clear we have noted no meaningful change in the behavior and actions of the principal and our students teachers and staff continue to Bear the brunt of this we have now asked twice for the principle to be removed during an investigation my question is what will it take for this to happen What further harm needs to come to our children teachers and staff before he is removed thank you for your time thank you for your comments our next two speakers are regarding Lincoln Park High School Beth Rosenberg speaker number 19 and John Mosner Moser speaker number 22 who is joining us virtually Beth Rosenberg do these faces my name is Beth Rosenberg and this feels like deja vu for me I stood before the board five years ago as a parent at Lincoln Park High School horrified by the ab abrupt decision to terminate our beloved principls John Su and Michelle Brumfield today I stand Here Again on John and Michelle's behalf whose lives were destroyed by CPS I implore you to take action CPS fired John thid and Michelle brunfield suddenly without notice or explanation and without merits there was no suspension no hearing and no evidence simply put CPS just fired them poof Gone Forever the student staff and parents and community of Lincoln Park High School were outraged at the time we were dismissed by CPS who told us if you knew what we knew you'd understand why they were fired we did it for the students safety they claimed I don't want to mince words here we know that it was all nonsense BS really as you may know your own office of Inspector General recently released a 90-page report concluding that everything that happened at Lingham Park was conflicted and flawed the supposed investigation led by OSP was garbage in its report the oig repeated repeatedly refers to osp's then leaders as Liars so we the parents who Pro you have 30 seconds the students who DED out and the teachers who raised concerns were not wrong that's why you have fully reinstated the three coaches and Deans and compensated the Millions for cps's actions now it's time for the principles where is their Justice John CPS ruined the lives of these Educators they were two dedicated individuals were effectiv effectively banned from their profession and CPS did this with intention and purpose poof gone five years later John Michelle still have unwavering support of the Lincoln Park High School Community removing their do not hires is an easy part but more much more is needed CPS must finally publicly apologize to John and Michelle I urge this board to stand up for justice marks lead by example by restoring the lives of these two innocent individuals you have power to take action time to correct the mistakes of the past and restore what has unfairly been taken away no more excuses no more delays we on to the next speaker thank you John Moser speaker number 22 joining us virtually please enter star 62 mute good evening my name is John Moser I now live in New York City but in 2020 I lived in Chicago and was the acting chair of the Lincoln Park High School LSC I know a lot about what happened at the school and more importantly what didn't actually happen in February 2020 I addressed this board in person along with about 20 about another 15 other parent speakers we were told by CEO Janice Jackson that we didn't have the full picture we were basically shamed and scorned but it turns out it was Janice Jackson and the board that didn't have the full picture in fact they were duped by their own investigators says who says the office of Inspector General in its 90-page report that it recently issued as you know oig found and I quote from page 90 that Pratt and span's conduct in this matter fundamentally undermined cps's integrity and fairness and jeopardized public trust in CPS on page 86 oij also found osp's off the books investigation bled into and seemingly influenced cps's most dramatic Personnel action in Su and brumfield's terminations think about it two principles exceptional leaders fired on the spot with no notice no hearing and no investigation do not hires the NHS were placed on them fired why for supposedly failing to supervise three coaches in a Dean but as you know CPS fully reinstated all four and paid them millions you even approved two of those settlements at your first meeting last month now what you must do is simple speaker 22 you have 30 seconds remaining thank you first remove the dnhs immediately second apologize to them and the entire community third because CPS destroyed their lives pay them something as we teach our kids own it all and fix it all the Lincoln Park High School community community and I were right we were not crazy five years ago when we came before this board and now with all the facts in hand you need to show leadership and do something about it thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker sandel revuri speaker number 21 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening and hi everyone my name is sel rui I'm a chicagoan a former teacher former Bo board vice president and most importantly parent of two CPS students um to the members of the board thank you for your service at this time of transition it is crucial that you as a board our staff our partners and our whole Community fully understand the important role of the board earlier we heard member Harden take the board oath of office this oath reminds us that the board's primary responsibility following the constitution of the state of Illinois is to ensure that our schools meet our students needs and improve their outcomes as the oath says the board must ensure all our students can attain their maximum potential continuously assess students achievement and set a vision of Excellence for every student this Vision becomes real as the board works together with the CEO and staff these these principles have three important implications for you all and for all future boards first our students their families and our whole Community need and deserve a board that prioritizes students Above All Else an effective board can't let adult concerns overshadow what matters most our kids the board must make decisions based on delivering outcomes for kids not based on ideology adult interests or politics second the board must govern not man the board must set goals then hold District staff accountable for achieving them this must be reflected in the board's policies its meeting agendas the questions you all ask and your evaluation of the CEO the board must spend its time listening to the community's vision setting clear thank you Susan and third to effectively represent the community the board must think deliberate and act for the long term important decisions should not be rushed they require a clear understanding of our community's vision and values they require time they require training postponing training for incoming board members isn't in the interest of effective governance and it's not best for our children more than ever our students need a district that helps them learn and they deserve a board that listens learns governs effectively and asks responsibility there may be some challenges with this transition it can also be an opportunity thank you to focus on students to prioritize the work of governing and to act with the long-term in mind I hope you all and all future boards will keep these principles in mind and make the right decisions for all our students and for our city thank you so much thank you for your comments our next speaker is Carrie glasby speaker number 23 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening my name is Carrie glass and I'm a caregiver of children at John Ha in leis Elementary I would like to see CPS and the board focus on how to address the needs of our students reading and math levels rather than all this politics for instance my grandson was in 7th grade had A's and B's so I was 125% sure that he was doing well during the parent teacher conference I took a closer look at the test scores and found out that I that he was reading at a third grade level why weren't we alerted what happened to the fourth through seventh grade that none of the teachers flagged this to help find the supports that to need for to Improvement once we was informed we was able to support him and advocate for him when teachers and caregivers collaborated our kids will succeed my grandson is now in speeding in school you are failing our children when you do not include parents in the decisions made for the Ed for our kids what's good is is for that they graduate but can't go to college or learn a trade CPS need more money but also need for schools to work with families and finding Solutions ask us what our students need what we know something about our own kids for instance we need more quality teachers in the classroom parents need transparency 30 seconds remaining and performances and what's being done to improve we deserve to know our our are our kids learning that should be the focus for every conversation happening in the ne in the negotiate table fewer than one and three students read at grade levels these numbers are shameful and used to be embarrassed these numbers are not just numbers it represents the future of our kids in our city thank thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Alicia Ellis speaker number 27 good evening community members president Martinez board members and fellow Educators my name is Alicia Ellis and I a school counselor at Nathan hell Elementary School I am here tonight to speak about something crucial a fair teacher contract this isn't just about compensation it's about the resources and systems we need to ensure that our students Thrive one area that demands our urgent attention is the Mental Health crisis affecting our schools Across the Nation we are seeing a rise in school refusal and School avoidance these are not just acts of defiance they are cries for help many of these students are dealing with anxiety depression and overwhelming stress they feel disconnected unsupported and unable to cope in environments that may unintentionally Overlook their emotional needs as teachers we often see these struggles firsthand we want to help but often we lack the tools and resources to do so this is why we must prioritize Mental Health Services in our schools every child deserves access to counselors social workers psychologists and School nurses who can provide the support they need to navigate these challenges we also need social emotional learning wellness centers in every school dedicated spaces where students can find Refuge practice mindfulness and learn these centers can serve as safe havens helping students regulate their emotions address their fears and reconnect with their learning environments my colleague Tanisha Henderson is leading that charge by doing the research compiling the data and developing a pragmatic approach to serve as the foundation for what we hope will become public policy in Chicago and Across the Nation a fair teacher contract isn't just about Fair pay it's about empowering Educators to advocate for these essential resources teachers who feel valued and supported are better equipped to meet the needs of our students when we invest in wellness centers and Mental Health Services we reduce School avoidance improve student outcomes and create schools where every child feels seen and supported let's not our student remarks together with this contract we must build a system where every student has access to counselors social workers and School nurses thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Lola Zimmerman speaker number 28 hello board me Members my name is Lola Zimmerman and I'm a sophomore at Nicholas Sun high school and I'm here today to voice concerns that students teachers and parents have about cuts to one of the most impressive public high school Arts programs in this or any city cuts that would reduce the number of arts classes students can take in sends dance music Visual Arts and theater programs by 38% these cuts are occurring because sen Arts doesn't qualify for CPS PE exemption waivers I'm a theater kid but please know that my peers and S other Arts programs feel just as passionately as I do about maintaining their programs all of which aren't just succeeding but thriving at sen theater students have a small but beautiful performance space that we perform our shows in during my time at sen every performance of every show at this space has been packed and not just with parents that success isn't an accident it's directly related to the school's Rich Theater Arts curriculum the gifted faculty who teach it and the co-host of engag students who pursue their Theater Arts education alongside Sen's academically rigor rigorous IB Program one of the things that makes Sen's arts program so special is the allotted two hours a day that we have to work in our respective arts classes in theater I get two hours a day to work my technique and do something I love something deeply fulfilling that helps create the well-rounded person standing here before you today not only are two classes a day extremely satisfying for someone who has decided to take this path they are also extremely necessary this is the reason I'm here today to protect the two classes a day that are necessary for an excellent Arts education we believe arts curriculum should be viewed in the same light that is shed upon other college readiness tracks allowing us to be eligible for your physical education waiver you see we already take to the to the you have 30 seconds two years of physical education is the value of two additional years of this class worth the cost in terms of St Arts curriculum in closing while we hope the board will consider our request for qualifying for a waiver that would allow sen Arts programs to continue to thrive for future students if that request is too high a hurdle please at least consider allowing current students to complete the program as it was represented when they chose to apply to sen for me it was my top choice and I hope that I will be able to finish my education cultivating my artistic abilities in my two class periods a day thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker is Janet Fernandez speaker number 29 who is joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute un good evening CPS board members my name is granet Fernandez I am the parent of a student who attends Walter pton High School my child received the accept when my child received the acceptance letter to the school we were excited because we thought that we would not have to advocate for school improvements academic courses or extra extracurricular activities soon we learned that this school lacks in many areas this school has ineffective leadership in 2022 teachers voted no on renewing the principal's contract many students don't feel supported by the principal and her Administration we need better practices when being a principle we need better leadership across the CPS District Pedro Martinez has failed to provide the leadership that our students deserve how much longer will parents and students have have to suffer under this Administration in my opinion we need two CEOs with a salary cap of 180,000 each to focus 100% on fixing the real problems at CPS CEOs that can help combat vendors corporate greed and invest in students education the CPS budget consists of billions of doar and we need leaders who can allocate funding appropriately and stop vendors for from overpricing goods and services CPS needs to have a forensic audit and then negotiate with CPU look at students who have lost Transportation this issue has been going on for years and CPS is only now getting Hub started they are paying more to trans transport students because they need vendor reforms many parents and students remaining true representation at CPS there are about 323,000 students and possibly more than half a million parents and Guardians CTU has about 30,000 teachers and they have a president and a vice president who do we have we have unresponsive CPS departments and that needs to change CPS needs immediate Improvement in the budget Department vendor reforms Transportation lscs parent and student representation and more lastly I want to inform you that my child was mistreated by the Cur nurse at Walter Payton this nurse has now been promoted and will be leav your Rems needs to stop wasting funding on these incompetent and unprofessional CPS employees across the district thank you for your time thank you for your comments the last speaker from the speaker list is yica Thomas speaker number 30 who's joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute hello my name is you Thomas I'm calling on behalf of legal legal prep uh Academy um my daughter is a student at legal prep I at first when she started going there I wasn't too well when when I wasn't too sure if I wanted her to go until I met Mr Williams the principal and the staff the school is a great school my daughter is getting a very good education she's excited about the legal program that they have there she's getting on the honor rooll and everything she's doing beautifully in school the issue that we're having now is that I went and spoke to Mr Williams and there's an issue outside of the school so I come and pick my daughter up every day the children are fighting a lot I spoke with Mr Williams he told me that he's they's done any everything in their power that they could do to try to get some help down at the school I've called CPS I've called the police station I need some help down at the school it's not safe there for the staff or the children I I am very concerned about my child although I want her to continue in the program is beautiful inside the school but they need help outside of the school it's very dangerous if children are always fighting and I feel like if there's a presence outside of the school they wouldn't be so quick to try to fight so I'm asking the board can you please send police cpf safe passage whatever is needed for them to have help at the school at legal prep this is something that is very dear to my heart my daughter is thriving in school but that's not going to continue if you all don't give them help that they need at the school speaker 30 you have 30 seconds remaining I appreciate your time and I just want you all to give them help at legal prep thank you thank you for your comments vice president Garner uh we also have some several elected officials who would like to address the board we'll start with alderwoman Nicole Lee from the 11th ward who joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening members of the Chicago Board of Education CEO Martinez Educators CPS staff and all those participating in tonight's meeting my name is Nicole Lee and I represent the residents of the 11th board proudly as Alder woman and I'm also a CPS parent former LSC chair of John C haes Elementary in Chinatown and personally a product of Chicago Public Schools I appreciate the opportunity to address you tonight over the course of the last several months I've joined many of my colleagues in calling upon this body to ensure the stability of our school system by keeping Pedro Martinez as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools since that time there's been 100% turnover of this body and we've had an election for the first 10 elected school board members the new board will be installed in a matter of weeks and I believe that the new hybrid board with 10 dly elected members and 11 appointed by Mayor Johnson have the responsibility to assess the situation and CEO Martinez's performance and ability to lead CPS and make the determination about the future of leadership at CPS to be clear I'm in full support of CEO Martinez continuing to lead CPS and I know that I'm not alone but members of this body are the only ones that get to vote on it you've all been appointed by the mayor to serve as board members and all that one of you has been sworn in just seven weeks ago I'm asking you tonight please allow the new board to make this decision the students of CPS deserve a decision based on full information and careful consideration of all the facts thank you very much for your time and I yield my time now thank you thank you for your comments our next elected official is Alderman Byron s Lopez from the 25th Ward thank you and um dear members of the board C Martinez welcome to Sean Harden the new board member in a really critical time malcol x said it and said it very wisely be careful with the corporate media because it will get you to hate those who trying to help us and Elevate those trying to oppress us those words are very relevant and continue to be in a time where our schools need Advocates and leaders to prevent school closures we need Advocates and leaders to make sure that our children have transportation to get to school we have rambar brown services and the right to a quality public education for all I'm here to tou not Politics as some of my colleagues love to send letters out a touch of the needs of a neighborhood but failed to come aboard meetings when it matters I'm here to stand proud in support of the parents Educators and the students and our communities of a set schools parents that were mistreated and continue to mistreat it by a charter who has even had the audacity to threat with legal action for holding them accountable I tell you and I'll be very clear here when we have a Charter network that is telling their investors make no mistake about it that they they have $46 million in reserves yet they choose unilaterally without talking to the Chicago Public Schools who have the right and the obligation to call them accountable to close seven schools leave seven schools 2,000 children vable childr whose families come from immigrant families vable to deportations vable to exploitation and discrimination in a time like this we need leaders to stand up and fight back and I tell you that today we stand proud with our parents teachers with our Educators because our Educators and our teachers are not our enemy they are our Advocates that working people just like us and they're standing with us for Quality public schools for all I tell you that today more than ever we need you to make a very important decision stand up proud to know that you're going to do the right thing you have a choice to make sure that Force are settled to immediately keep either these schools open or immediately take a school action and absorb these schools so our children are protected from the reactionaries the trumps that want to close the Department of Education they want to ban books they want to take us back to the dram cow area we need you to stand up with us protect our children in a time when we need them to be safe to be sound in a schools that are safe Heavens like no other I ask you I ask you as a father as an immigrant and a former teacher to stand up when others are failing and looking at their contracts and stand up for our children and stand up for public education a stand up for our communities we're not going to let us divide each other our black and brown communities are strong coming together because we want our children you hear them all you hear our children I'm proud to see his children from CPS you heard him they talking about common sense about fully funded schools talking to the state of Illinois when our CEO has failed to go to see to State of Springfield to talk about funding our schools tax the millionaires there was a referendum already on on November 5th so that we can charge our s chars to millionaires who don't pay their taxes to fully F schools they can bring $4.5 billion that's what the state should be doing that's what the CEO should be doing and we should not allow school closures under their watch as the CEO had promised but failed to act I tell you that today I am proud to stand with my community I'm not ashamed to being an immigrant I am not ashamed of standing up proud what I saw yesterday the mistreatment the gaslighting the disrespect has to be match with actions of Integrity I ask you to take action today to either force them to prioritize the public education of our children and not investors we don't need political advisers here to tell us what to do neither saviors we know what we need we need those schools open we need our children to continue to have quality public education no matter what's the Si code and I tell you we need basic transportation that the co fails continue to provide as they continue to provide what as my colleague said politics business as usual what our children are suffering and need you to take action Swift action to protect us and finally I tell you that our school communities have to come together we cannot pit administrators against School communities parents or we need us to come together to sign and finalize a contract so that we have the wraparound Services the special teachers the ESL teachers the quality education that every children deserve less than that it's a failure to the city of Chicago less than that is a failure to those who are fighting for our schools and today will tell you take action today take action to for to make sure that our schools are open take action to make sure that we sign that contract and let's put secondary the contracts of people who are not standing up with us I thank you for your time thank you for your comments the next elected official is Alderman Scott wagese from the 32nd Ward who's joining us virtually please enter star 6 to unmute good evening can you hear me yes please proceed thank you very much um thank you for this opportunity to speak to you um I will keep it as short as I can I appreciate the fact that uh everyone has been appointed here um and is working through a very difficult time uh for our children and for our teachers and for everyone as a whole um especially you as board members with a lot of the difficult decisions that you have to make um I'm not only an elected official and Alderman on the city council but I also have children in CPS um my children uh as we've grown up in CPS have seen amazing changes happen in the schools they've seen a lot of uh work being done to make our schools better as they went through through the covid um pandemic I I think that a lot of what has happened over the last several years the changes for the positive have been through Pedro Martinez and I want to make it known that um many of my parents many of our families in the neighborhood really have stressed through their different voices their diversity and their relationship with the parents and communities that we need strong leadership at CPS and that Pedro Martinez has provided that um I know that uh there's been a lot of uh things said back and forth about whether Pedro Martinez should be um continuing in his CPS leadership role and I think as a parent and as an elected official I feel strongly that he should stay in this position um a change of leadership shouldn't be rooted in political interests um but in interest of doing what is best for our students um over the last couple years again as I've talked to him as I've listened to what changes he wants to make to improve the system as a whole to make it fair and Equitable for every child in this system is something that I believe um in in him and I believe that working with you he will make it better um as we see the new elected board members come in in the upcoming year I think it's imperative to wait to make sure that their voices um as they've been elected by many of our constituents are heard in this issue as well so um I just wanted to reassure you that as we've been working with him over the last several years um we'd like to continue that and make sure that the city of Chicago uh and the sister agency that is CPS continue to work toward improving uh all of our students lives the quality of life in the classroom as qu well as quality of life at home so I know that as you make difficult decisions over the next few weeks um we hope that one of those decisions is to make sure that we keep Pedro Martinas and the position that he's in and I look forward to working with each one of you um with that I um thank you for your time and hope that you have an excellent rest of the meeting thank you very much thank you thank you for your comments our next speaker our next elected official is Carlos a Rivas Jr board member elect for District 3 good evening parents teachers students labor partners stakeholders board members and board members elect my name is Carlos Rivas I'm the newly elected board member for District 3 um I'm here today for two main reasons first off um my fellow board members and I are again asking the current board to stop making any major decisions until the new hybrid board is seated in just five weeks it has come to my attention that next weeks board training and onboarding has been cancelled a training that is meant to prepare us to make very big decisions on the education of thousands of students in Chicago eight of the 10 newly elected members have sent a letter to the board office asking why our training and onboarding has been cancelled to ensure that it is restored for next week uh I'm now asking our general counsel um directly what is the reasons why this was canceled and specifically who is cancelled for this uh this training and why what has led to that decision I know our general counsil can't answer dur during comment but I uh share to you why this is incredibly important and troubling uh for us uh it looks like we're playing politic politics again with our children is there something that they're trying that is trying to be pushed through by this board before that D democratically elected members can weigh in where are these directives coming from uh within the board and then finally what are the actions uh that this board is trying to take now that it will limit transparency and accountability as the new member take place uh take their seats so I'm committed to working with everyone in the new hybrid board in the coming year I look forward to working together with everyone here and thank you for your time I yield my time thank you for your comments our next elected official is Angel gutiz board member elect for District 8 good evening everyone um I like Carlos uh I'm here to talk about two things same two things um the first is to ask the the body in front of me to uh refrain from making decisions until the new hybrid born comes together um secondly to reiterate uh Carlos's point relative to next week's training that was cancelled um because I think that ultimately um we want to create the best school system collectively together um and when decisions are made that don't include the voters who just elected 10 people Citywide um and we want to be able to honor their wishes so um with that I resend my time thank you thank you for your comments and the last elected official who um joining us is Chase Smith board member elect from District 10 so as we as we celebrate the life of Nikki Giovani I want to begin with the words of Nikki giovan our children are not or our our children are not ours nor are we theirs they are future we are past how do we welcome the future not with the colonialism of the past for that is our problem not with the racism of the past because that becomes their problem not with the fears of our status for history is live not dictated I'm looking forward to working with all of the board members on behalf of the 322,000 children of District 299 especially board member ogga Batista of the 10th District were a total of 8,487 parents teachers stakeholders voted and 2,922 voted for me to be their servant leader in the spirit of collaboration and service I was surprised that the newly elected members 8 day onboard training scheduled for Monday December 16th was abruptly cancelled and shortened to 5 days with no explanation the historic Bo the historic elected board will be joining you soon to help set District goals and priorities approve policies make purchasing decisions evaluate contracts approve the budget and capital Improvement plan and set the school year calendar we need all the information and training that is available to us with no interruptions and obstruction you just appointed a board member today brother I pray you got the training you need we all need the information and training that that's available a recent s a recent SNP report states that uncertainty surrounding CPS management stability and board transition could have a near or longer term implications for the board's credit profile we can avoid causing taxpayers and students harm simply by working together we we are eager to see the agenda and objectives planned for all onboarding sessions would you please provide the original 8-day agenda with attend with intended daily objectives and when you have it will you also provide the agenda objectives for the now planned five days of onboarding many of us would like to continue with onboarding as planned for next week others wish for sessions to be made up during evening or weekend hours and encourage that the trainings provided are scheduled to ensure accessibility to all of us to accommodate the diverse schedule of board members many of whom are still workingclass individuals this approach will ensure Equitable access and enable full participation in these important Preparatory sessions but the consensus is that we will all have access to full slates of plan training as soon as possible so that we are able to digest information and ask questions in an appropriate amount of time prior to officially beginning our board duties in closing I will end with Nikki Giovani embrace the change no matter what it is once you do you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it let's embrace this historic election and let's embrace one another and let's move forward in a new era of education for Chicago Public Schools thank you for your time I look forward to working with you soon thank you for your comments thank you vice president Garner this concludes public participation and again thank you all for all of your comments tonight we will now proceed with the business portion of the meeting CEO Martinez we are ready for the presentation thank you vice president uh we will have our chief uh our chief portfolio officer um Dr Carona present and with his team good evening uh board members um congratulations and welcome board member uh Harden uh today our presentation will discuss the options for the seven campuses within Theo chatter network of the schools my name is Alonso Carmona I'm the chief portfolio officer and I'm here with director Washington and with deputy chief Tim bur who will join me in the presentation and we'll start if you go to the next slide uh to speak about I'm sorry director Washington will speak about background and context good evening board members um as Chief stated I'm Rochelle Washington director of performance and accountability with the office of I andai and first we'll go over a bit of background and context the Acero charter school network was initially authorized in December 1997 currently it is a multi-site replicating charter school with 15 campuses and a maximum enrollment cap of 9,750 students the district's official enrollment count for school year 20242 captured an enrollment of 6,179 students and as of today the Acero network has 6,39 students enrolled 1,84 enrolled in the seven affected campuses after aero's initial 5-year term it subsequently received three more 5-year terms and a three-year term in 2023 ending June 30th 2026 on October 9th the assero board of directors authorized the closing of seven of its 15 operating campuses in its decision and subsequent actions assero operated within the scope of their agreement with the district the Illinois charter schools law indicates that schools can negotiate agreements with the district however the law does not provide parameters for preventing charter schools from self-closing and the state statutory more torium does not apply to Charter Schools next slide please as mentioned in 2023 the Acero Network received a three-year renewal term expiring June 30th 2026 the processes comprehensive review of the network generated a rating of meet standards for academic and financial performance and a rating of does not meet standards for operational performance mainly due to English learner and diverse learner compliance deficiencies at some some of its campuses since fiscal year 2018 Acero has met and or exceeded all four key indicators of Financial Health the FY 24 Financial scorecard which is the most recent score scorecard for AO indicates that the organization is exceeding standards for two of the four key indicators change in net assets and current ratio and meeting standards for the other two net asset and cash on hand ratio as part of our standard over oversight practices all charter schools are required to submit budgets for the upcoming year back in June Acero submitted its fy2 budget which did not indicate a deficit for the current year I and I supported the campuses during start of school initiatives to ensure a smooth start of the year and our deployment issues our deployment visits indicated no issues it is important to note that aero's decision to close seven campuses is not based on past or Current financial distress but on projected deficits in future years at this time I'll pass it over to Chief Carmona to discuss the timeline of events and potential Solutions regarding Aero for future Years thank you rochel the first two slides that you'll see on the screen discuss the timeline and I'm not going to go over every single one of those items but I do wanted to speak to the fact that well we receive a notification uh from Maser on October 9th it was the same day that all of the members of the prior School Board announced the resignation next slide our team from that moment initiated the standard operating procedure when the Char School decided to self close it was on November 1st that we receive a different direction from our current board next slide since then we have been working with Aero leadership to to present options for the board to consider these options were presented to the board on November 13 and discuss in more depth the weeks of the week of November 18 since then we continue notifying families about the gocps application process particularly ensuring that all of the a graders in AER complet the applic application before the deadline on Sunday so let's discuss and this is why we here for the options for a ser and I'm going to start with option one as we discuss the options we also will talk about risks and uh challenges as well as benefits of each one of them option one is to support Aero to fulfill his contract through June 30 of 2026 while CPS cannot legally Force Aero to keep the schools open CPS continue to work with Aero to advocate for the seven campuses to remain open under Aero until 2026 CPS has discussed potential solution with Aero leaders ship were open to exploring these options including keeping the campuses open if financial support is provided as noted a set of financial deficits is one of the largest drivers for closure with this option financial support will be provided to cover the deficit the deficit of operating the campuses under the asero network the support will be codified in mou uh that aeral board of directors will have to agree to CPS has worked with asero to identify the financial need asero has been responsive to all of the district requests throughout this process the amount that we have identified will be up to $3.2 million it is important to note that um this amount was calculated considering an anticipated Revenue adjustment based on the current per pupil formula and does not include any capital investment that are may be needed at those campuses it is also important to clarify IED that the calculations that we presented to you are Bas are based on projections and current policies and procedures around Char school funding uh deputy chief Timbers will discuss benefits and risks thank you Chief good evening uh we'll talk about the uh benefits and risk of option one first with the benefits uh this will have limited disruption to student staff and families it allows for more time to ensure that have transition occurs we can do so in the most efficient and transparent way possible now to the risk and challenges students families could leave the school throughout the phase out process as stability might be a concern which will impact students daily experiences significantly providing additional funding sets a precedent that CPS can and will fund Charter Schools above the state mandated per capita tuition charge and bailout charges on the brink of closure CPS will provide a seral funding to close the financial cap which does not include Capital costs the district would be liable for life safety issues on the seven campuses we need to include ao's overhead cost in providing resources for daily operations and management currently the board does not have a framework for when Charter Schools receive additional funds to support our operational deficits or additional needs as we have traditionally transitioned students to other schools within the district now we're turning back over to Chief moment for the second option and before I go into the second option let me clarify that we do not have a framework for this decision because this will be the first time if approved by the board that we do something like this in the in the past this is what I'm going to present next is option number two which is the standard procedure that CPS has done before when there's a self-closure or a non-renewal so you can go to the next oh yes to the next I'm sorry to the slide oh yeah this slide is good I'm sorry option number two is to transition students again this aligns with our standard operating procedures when Char schools close in this option CPS work with the students and families to find a school that best fit the needs for uh their students in the 2526 school year CPS has exended the go CPS deadline to December 15 which allows students additional time to find available seats in out of boundary schools the district will provide direct support to families to disc their interest and find a new option in addition consistent with past practices CPS will provide ink kind financial support to the district run schools that are slated to receive a significant number of students the potential uh Financial impact to the district would range from $5 million in total savings if all of the students stay in District manage schools to $5 million in additional cost if all the students decide to transition to other Char schools and explain this a little bit is the reasoning behind this is if the students transfer to our schools we have a different funding model that is not necessary per pupil if the students transfer to char schools then that amount will increase as I mentioned before the per pupil funding will change for next year this does not include which deputy chief that Timbers will discuss in a second the potential impact of the students leing the district all together with option two the benefits include the asera network and inii leaders have a working relationship that will enable seamless transition support and the wind down consistent with past wind down processes for Charter Schools electing to self-close this includes understanding what is needed to transition students student and business record storage and preparation and physical and financial asset return students will receive personalized transition support from the office of network supports the office of Multicultural and multilingual education and the office of students with disabilities District managed schools will receive one-time financial support for transitioning students depending on the number of students transitioning to each School the risk and the challenges are closure of these schools would destabilize families and staff who are currently part of these School communities given the large number of students transferring groups may not transfer to the same schools the remaining neral campuses may not be an option for most impacted families CPS has observed when Charter Schools Clos the district eventually loses some of those students as they transfer out of the district and I will now turn it back over to Chief Caron option number three is a contingency plan for the 26 27 school year and and I'll clarify why this is not a contingency plan for next school year as it takes uh time for us to be able to exercise this particular option this third option is a longer term contingency plan in this option CPS transition some campuses into City uh Citywide schools and expand the district facility uh footprint this option May provide the least amount of disruption to students and families however CPS will need to seek board approval to establish the new schools add the SES to the lease renewal with the arch dasis and make any changes uh to the budgets that are necessary although long-term operational cost may not increase significantly CPS will incure in incubation cost to transition the schools absorbing the campuses and opening them as District managed schools we require them to become Citywide district schools due to the district under enroll enrollment policy lastly programming at these schools campuses May defer substantially as these will now be District managed schools covering these schools of converting these schools to District manage schools could have a potential Financial impact to the district finances of between 21 and 28 million next slide so with option three the benefits are at a minimum this option allows families and students to continue at the same location easing the burden of students acclimating to a new physical environment and families traveling to a new school this is particular beneficial for students with disabilities retention of existing aeral staff may be possible result in continuity of staff to staff and staff to student relationships now for the risk and challenges foremost this sets a precedent that all self-closing Charter Schools should can be absorbed by The District 20 charter schools have closed since 2015 despite the school remaining open staff would have to be hired by CPS which has resident and certific certification requirements that do not apply to Charter Schools as a result there will still be staff turnover and potential more staff vacancies Sarah oversees and manages the programs and curricula for the seven proposed campuses if these seven schools were to transition to the district they would need to comply with CPS curricular requirements Implement all student and staff policies and integrate student information systems and grades this process would affect every CPS department and must be completed within a short time frame large Financial impact on the district due to incubation which is Personnel Learning Materials Furniture Equipment Technology and operation of seven new schools additional expenses incured by the district for the building purchase or rent maintenance and capital expenses rental costs are likely to increase at four of the seven lease sites which are set to expire in June 2025 the proposed absorption of seven campuses poses a significant challenge to the board's under enrollment schools policy 30211 which is designed to assist under enrolled schools through targeted interventions that enhance enrollment efficiency this approach makes undermining our commitment to supporting CPS schools near Santiago P to Mayo and ssos I will turn it back over to Chief Carmon finally we go to option four and uh this is an option that the board ask us to take into consideration and we're calling it a hybrid opportunity the district will financially support to cover asero I'm sorry to cover the networ deficits while at the same time facing out some of the schools this option could be completed in two different ways or other ways as well for the hybrid option one the district support Aero keeping six campus open and will phas out Aero pass campus these options require the district to provide financial support to Aero to cover the deficit for the whole network excluding the past campus the estimated cost of this options including cap excluding Capital Investments could be up to $1.6 million depending on parents preferences the students at pass will be uh will be transition to either District manage schools or charter schools in option hybrid number two the district support Aero keeping five campuses open and facing out Aero pass and Cru this options require the district to provide financial support to Aero to cover the deficit for the whole network excluding pass and cruise campuses in this scenario our analysis shows that the network as a whole will be close to break even and may not need additional funding aside from the funding we discussed before related to um per pupil um increases depending on parent preferences again the district will transition students at the past and cruise campuses to District manage schools as mentioned in the first option this amount includes an anticipated Revenue adjustments based on the per pup formula but does not include capital investment at any of the current assetto facilities these calculations as I mentioned again before are based on projections on current policies and procedures around Char school funding we do not present risk and challenges or benefits to this option because of course it's a hybrid option that takes into consideration options one and three and we discuss those uh already uh dep Chief timers mentioned then as well um to conclude the presentation I know you're not asking me a question yet but I know you asked me this question during uh the 2 by two presentation and is what what is my recommendation so I have this you have these four options technically five since hybrid is two of them what is my recommendation at the end of the day when we think about what the parents this teachers uh families have come to speak to the board to speak to us what we have heard from the families is that we should not close these campuses so when I think about option two and is the option that we have historically done in the past uh for uh Charter Schools uh that that's an option that honestly in my in my opinion should be taken out of the equation um however we also have to take into consideration the financial implications and the risk that we actually discussed um a couple minutes ago we do believe and I do believe that hybrid option two could be the best option as we don't have to provide additional um uh financial support to Aero we have some uh issues with Aero pass and Aero Cru When it comes to their um deficit they have significant deficits at those two campuses and both facilities require large investment uh for the district both facilities are also for sale so if you ask me again you haven't asked me this question what would be my recommendation is to go with option hybrid number two that will also allow us enough time for us to eventually potentially transition those schools as District manage schools after the 20 uh 25 26 school year that conclude our presentation and I'll open now the floor for questions thank you board members any questions okay board M Janis thank you vice president Gardner can you hear me great wonderful thank you thank you for the presentation uh and what I wanted to ask you um so we we learn about this on October 9th correct that is correct correct and so so there was additional financials requested when was that throughout the whole process so when we received the notification from when when did we start requesting the financials basically at the following day we start yes information from them okay so since 2015 20 charter schools have closed correct that is correct whether it's self closure or we have not renewed have we added any language uh to to stop this from from happening where where we add language to us or contracts because this seems that this problem has been going on for many years has anything changed so if you reference the fact that some of the schools have self-closed uh we have some examples of that in the past uh most of the schools that have gone through that process have self Clos or have finished their contracts and do not seek renewal that's that's within the law and is acceptable for them to do so the surprise for us that this is happening during the time and the contract uh per se and there's still eight more campuses that Aero has so certainly this this was a surprise to us from that perspective on how it happened we are in the process of looking into what additional language we need to add to avoid this situation from happening in the future so that hasn't happened yet in terms of adding the language yes well we can only add language during contract renewal processes so but but if this is something that has been happening why why shouldn't we add that language now in the past every single board every single previous board has um maintained that the process of the standard procedure of basically taking the students and transitioning the students to CPS school that's has been what the board has approved in the past so you're waiting for the board to to give guidance on on on that the guidance have been given to us by the board to say that we should transition the students to our schools that has been the guidance that has been discussed in the past and I believe I discussed that during the two by tws uh with you was in the first slide uh in fact the previous board established that as a parameter uh when we talk about minimizing privatization within CPS wouldn't you say that's part of the problem to wait for our guidance I mean um because we're entrusted you you're the experts on the matter and if you see red flags I mean it's bringing it to the board's attention and saying hey we need to add this language we need to do better so that we create safeguards and if they don't abide to this contracts we can go after them so let me clarify a couple of things because I think you we're talking about two different pieces uh the first piece is the prevent component of it which is can only be done during contract agreement processes uh we right now I believe have 43 schools that are going between contract and option schools that are going for renewal for this cycle we will be adding language to those so that's that's separate um uh when we say in terms of waiting for for the board again the the guidance that we have received so far has been to transition students to CPA schools this is what I mentioned that on November 1st this was the first time that we saw an indication from the board and the moment we saw that indication we we started working on additional options which we presented to you on I believe it's not I'm not mistaken November 13 as I mentioned before yeah I'm sorry I mean I just feel that that it's uh we we have to do better we we really have to do better you know and and honestly I mean I think we can all agree that we want the best for our children and our parents and and we should have never been in a situation where where we're kind of like passing the ball and just kind of like waiting to see what's going to happen um I I really believe that this student who who spoke earlier you know she she made it very clear she said imagine a world I mean this is the third largest District in the country we have the ability to really create a model for change here and so I think that we have in many in many ways we have failed to do that and we have to we have to look at the mirror and we have to acknowledge that and it's painful to do that it's painful but we have to do better I'm sorry but when I'm looking at this and every time that we think about this I mean the holidays are around the country around the corner and parents they don't know what's going to happen they don't know what's going to happen whether their children are going to be in their school whether staff are going to remain in that school nurses you name it social workers I mean this this is creating another wound to communities that have already suffer they have suffered enough let me mention a couple of things remember um yanes and with all due respect we were plan we plan to make this presentation available to you on November 14 and it was removed from the agenda so this presentation should have happened basically almost a month ago let me let me start there number two which could allow us to make uh the recommendation I'm making today a month ago and for you to make a final decision to present to Aero three weeks ago uh number number two uh is it's very important to also clarify the fact that when we talk about holding CH schools accountable in reality there's two main ways in which we can do that and and I discuss with you this during the two by tws number one is to we hold F funding for the schools and we all know exactly what that means with we with hold funding we are basically removing and stopping services for our students and the teachers and the staff cannot get paid because the funding doesn't get there on time the second way to hold Charter Schools accountable is to not renew them which mean we fall again in the same position that we are today with the schools that are scheduled to close so I I wanted to make those clarification the reality and you had the timeline in there of every single step that we have taken from the moment we received that notification uh from um from Aero and the reality is we can point fingers left and right at the end of the day we need a solution and at the end of the day I can't make that decision all I can do is bring you recommendations for you to make that decision and give us guidance or what to do next if the plan is to change the way how we proceed when Char School self Clos give me that directions and we create the framework in fact deputy chief already created piece of the framework how do we make those decisions moving forward but again previous board gave us exactly what the directive was we changed Direction the moment you taught us that we needed to look in a different direction and and I like I said I think that's part of the problem you know that that is part of the problem because we're trusting you you know every everyone in this position in this chair to bring those recommendations to us because you have the boots in the ground right I mean you're supposed to have the boots on the ground and make sure that whenever we see the smoke it's probably too late when we see the smoke right so have create a culture that is not reactive but it's proactive I mean that's the bottom line 100% agree with you again this is why we present or try to present those recommendations on November 14th member blaz hi there um I think we missed the part where board members can comment to public participation so I'll come back to my comments um uh after these but thank you so much for your hard work the four options that we have I think are it's really clear the direction I think that um we do need a closed session to have a whole conversation you know it's hard for us to talk to each other um as a board because of the open meetings act so we do need to have a conversation um but I think we all know the direction that we're headed and and our friends who show up every month um twice a month um and you we had to buy extra tissues for the whole set you guys bring the that's you know who it is um um we really have been working really hard to make sure that your voices were heard and the direction did change Trust and Believe before we got involved with this conversation the conversation that the initial conversation that was brought to us was this is what we're going to tell the families about how to find another school until we were honestly gobsmacked that there wasn't more discussion about what the the steps were there wasn't a lot of leadership that I perceived or that I was um and I was President protm for one day I got one briefing that right that CH I was like what are we doing how how do I I would even have gotten that briefing if I wasn't if if um I wasn't in that position that day too um but it was the hand of God and I'm I'm telling you with um we're working hard to make sure that you have Direction um um Chief Carmona has been uh very vocal about that we need to give you guys choices right now he is also we're also seeing the enrollment there's been 200 I think children leaving Aero schools um that we might not get back again and that's disrupting your community because people are scared and worried so we're trying to make sure that we're we're moving thoughtfully and we're moving um with with the appropriate guidance so um so I just want I I want to say that also this is going to this is Monumental right typically a charter school provider and here's the problem Charter School providers they can come and go your your CPS regular school folks they're in it they're we're here they're here right like the um there's no option but Charter School operators can come and go and so we have to figure out what the the method of moving forward is um when they decide to go and I know that Chief Carmon has this has been foremost in his mind not just what to do in this situation but to create a framework for in case other schools um happen to go Aero is closing seven schools but they got eight other schools are we going to get a letter next year and once again I would love to ask them that but they couldn't make it here they certainly sent me a cease and deist the the whole board here a cease and desist letter against talking about Aero and they still didn't show up here um Lori I love that you're here uh but you couldn't get your guys here Aero still not here um and uh I I like that you brought your bullet points and I and I saw the shot at the end about we're looking forward to working to the fully integrated hybrid board well we're here right now and we're making some decisions and if you can get your friends at Aero to come in and talk to us that would be super helpful um and so I say all this to say we are working diligently to get you answers as soon as we can we also are trying to plan a meeting in on the southwest side in your community we're going to come to you is what we're hoping how about that how about that um so that we can we can really flesh this all out because you it was your leadership your guidance that got us to this point so we want to come and continue continue the discussion in your neighborhood so um with that being said I I want to I want to say thanks for all your hard work I want to say there's been so much um hard work done by so many folks in this room and uh we're g to get there so thank you member Thomas good evening Mr Carmona thank you so much for the hard work and creativity of your team this is a Jerry mcgrier question under and this question comes from a leftover someone who has been seen or board member who has been seen as less than legitimate as a mayor all appointy how much money will CPS have to invest in order to save the Acero schools under the six campuses and five campuses and when I say show me the money how do we get our loot back from what Aero is not doing because it seems like their response they got some money and they're not going to do something and you through your hard work of your team and your creativity is going to assume a lot of responsibility to stop some bleeding and some crying in the community where the Aero schools are how much money is that so as discussed um in in that first option would be about $1.6 million and let me clarify when when Aero presented their financials they presented their financials looking at each individual School uh and looking at for us to cover the deficit only of the seven schools uh we completely disagree with that statement because at the end of the day it's a network so when we renew them we renew the whole network we don't renew individual campuses therefore when you see that number of 1.6 we're looking at um the deficit of the whole network so there's no Surplus when it comes to to to that that investment has to go straight to the classrooms and to make sure that those students of those six schools are receiving the services that they deserve the second option will imply that we don't have to give Aero any additional funding aside from the funding of the per pupal formula as a result of the fact that that funding will cover any existing gaps for the whole network time effort what do you think that is costing CPS that's a great question I don't think we have necessarily uh look at the number of hours that our team has worked on on working on these pieces uh but but at the end of the day this is for us is less about that for us is more about the students and and the staff and the families uh that that desert the services and at the end of the day uh when when you ask me the question again during the 2 by two what what is my recommendation I'm thinking about them and I'm thinking about the fact that that we cannot that this point uh we have 1,84 students that are enrolled at the school we we want to take care of every single one of those babies and ensuring that those babies have a home uh the they calling home so far uh for next year and give us enough time for us to do the transition that is necessary to absorb the schools if the bo approve uh that absorption member I'm sorry go ahead member Thomas for those people who suggest that we sit here and do absolutely nothing I have only one minute only 60 seconds in it forced upon me I can't refuse it didn't seek it didn't choose it but it's up to me to use it I must suffer if I lose it give account if I abuse it just a tiny little minute but eternity is in it we will not sit here and do nothing while these people are sufferings to suggest to suggest that we do nothing and we are not legitimate there was a leader of Rome who enjoyed music while the town was burning we're not fiddling around here we will make a decision thank you board member po hi uh I before I speak I'd like to invite our student member who had a question or comment to go ahead of me hello everyone oh my name is kolina Ki I'm the honorary student Board of member for the Chicago Board of Education and I just want to go back to the public comments and so as the honorary student board member I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the parents teachers students CTU and everyone else who has publicly participated today your involvement is crucial and it shows a collective commitment to the future of our children now in the spirit of Christmas as I reflect on the Nativity and seeing the positive energy and support in this room I am reminded of the words from The Sermon on the Mount blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after Justice for they shall be filled these words resumate with me deeply as I believe it is our duty to pursue Justice fairness and care for our children Jesus Christ also said let the children come to me and we as a board are dedicated to ensuring that the best interests of our children are at the heart of everything we do thank you all for your support and together we will work to build a better future for them thank you so uh I guess my comment is pretty simple and that is we have all reiterated that we are here for the children and for the families and we will take the action that we need to do to provide the best education the most continuity the most security and stability for the children and families of Aero I'm sorry that uh not everyone who could have affected this has chosen to take that path but we will take that path because we are here for you and we represent you and your children and your concerns in the spirit of all that has been said uh Chief I'm just going to ask a question um um I'd like uh for you to give us a detailed plan for a Sarah by Monday is that possible when you say a detailed plan can you I'm I'm I'm saying that we've had a number of meetings on this issue I mean your recommend option three on option three if you can provide this board with a detail plan by Monday is that possible on option three on option three on option got it I'm sorry I didn't provide us with a detail plan by Monday yeah we'll try our best I think that's no that's that's possible said you'll try yeah I'm asking you can I get can the board get a detail plan by Monday yeah I will have to on option three yes I will have to speak with the board office to understand what the means uh but when it comes to transitioning the schools uh to CPS we can give you kind of a road map what will that enta um by Monday yes and I I I have this so we we we are we we we we minus uh board member Harden other than that you know we we're pretty caught up as I said in the hall Y and I appreciate all of the meetings and everything so just looking for a very detailed uh plan when you do give it to us okay sounds good okay thank you any more questions board members all right thank you very much sir thank you okay see board members we will now open the floor up for questions or comments on items on the public agenda all right so so um I just want to make sure that that uh it's [Music] um that it's highlighted the fact that that we're I mentioned this before as as a society that we stand on the shoulders of giants and many of these Giants were created were educated by by our Educators right and so I want to make sure that that in that Spirit we uh consider the voice of of our Educators and and we are respectful on on their voice and I really want to encourage to make sure that we have a commitment on on addressing this uh this this contract that a swift contract that I believe that it's it's comprehensive asking for uh counselors social workers uh more more time for Preparation and I'm pretty sure right now in this time at this hour there are many Ed Educators that are still working on their on their lesson plans and and maybe on Walgreens putting money from their pocket to buy materials in their school so our educators are allies and if we are thinking about having a better Society we have to make sure that we do right by by this contract and so I I want to make sure that we that we have that understanding uh and I just want to say thank you uh to to all the Educators that that have invested in me and that have poured their love and and uh and so this is this is the time this is the time to to to do it to make it right and this is really the time I really believe to create a model for the country and and perhaps the world why not and so let's get to work uh we don't have a lot of time time is the essence uh like the student lla said let's imagine a world right this is the time let's dream big and and and let's close the deal right and let's make it better okay and also I just also want to point out to the aletto parents and and staff and everyone that has come thank you and and I'm sorry because many people have failed you many people have failed you and so thank you and and I'm sorry uh we we make our commitment that we're going to do right by you uh and and I hope that we can make it a Swift swe swift decision uh you have my love and my respect are love and respect and you have encouraged us thank you for your for your courage you that's f are there any more questions at this point of our agenda yes okay um in in regards to the public comment I just want to thank the all the leadership for coming out today Stacey Davis gates from CTU um Diane Palmer from seciu Troy lavier from um uh cpaa it's really important um um again to show up you're you often if you can't make it send folks um you're here you're um paying attention you're listening your presence is felt in the conversation um and I say this to say there's so many people that were also that made phone calls in today that haven't been to any of the other meetings that are discussing topics that they're not um a part of the discussion when they can be um Alderman sichko Lopez I can't go to a meeting about anybody being educated anywhere on the planet without him showing up and having something to say um his leadership is is um inspiring and it inspires all of us to work hard the um again to piggyback on member Thomas's comments about whether we should what what we're supposed to be doing with our time here on the board I I first want to say welcome board member elect gutieres we look forward to working with you but the idea that we would sit on our hands is is it's not it doesn't work for anybody involved there's a ton of experience there's a ton of heart there is a ton of compassion on this stage right now I was talking to this woman at 11:30 at night last night and she started at 9 o'clock in the morning going from meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting all of the folks on this and you have oh my darling you have no idea you're about to be the busiest man in Chicago um and welcome to you Bard member Harden I appreciate you but this is a lot of hard work it's it's not g to take a I can't say that I'm all the I know everything either I I think it's going to take months and months for us till we really get our feet underneath us and so to wait for you all and it's we've been here for three months and I don't know everything wait to wait for you all it means it's going to be six months before any progress gets made um and we we can't do this to our kids it's not appropriate but the question is also the why why do you feel and not you personally but why do so many people feel like we don't have the authority or wherewithal to make any decisions in in the position that we've been placed is is it really about us or is it about something else and for me and certainly for my other board members um we don't want to play politics we want to get things done we we want to talk about children and families we want to talk about making CPS better and we want to work collaboratively with as many people as we can in order to make that happen um so I'll just I'll just leave it there but I I I want to say again as I've said before I'm super proud to serve with all of you I know how hard you work I know you all have jobs families and some of us will be on the board with you we're looking forward to serving with you we can't I can't wait till you get here and realize how much work it is and how much we need each other and how important it is for us to work collaboratively and and not be pitched on on either sides of battles and so and these folks here are working diligently constantly to make sure that they're getting us information that we need and the guidance and and and look to us for guidance and and we're going to give it to them whenever we can um okay so thank you thank you board members any any further questions at this point all right thank you we will now proceed with the vote on the public agenda items Madam Secretary thank you vice president Gardner I'll proceed with the items on the public agenda read the board report numbers and brief titles I believe board member yanes has motion M1 regarding record of proceedings I moved at the record of proceedings of the agenda review committee meeting of October 24th 2024 and board meeting on November 1st 2024 prepared by the board secretary be approved and that such records or proceedings be posted on the Chicago Board of Education website in accordance with Section 2.06 V on the open meeting Act is there a second I second that motion I'll proceed with a r call member Pope yes member blae yes member Janes yes member Tomas yes member Harden yes vice president Gardner yes 6 I Zer n this motion is adopted by the board vice president Garner I will continue with an item that does not require a vote rs1 resolution regarding elected representative School Board districts vice president Garner for the record rs1 is being amended and the final will be included in the agenda of action the amendment is to remove the reference of the Public Act noted this item just needs to be accepted by the board please mark receive and file vice president garer I will continue with additional items on the public agenda that do require a vote rs2 amend the resolution authorizing payments for special education services to various state approved non-public facilities and vice president Garner this amendment is necessary to increase authorized spending to support an increased number of placements to non-public facilities to correct language and list appropriate statutes I'll continue with RS3 resolution loving property ta property taxes and authorizing and directing the filing of a controller certificate for the fiscal year 2025 RS4 resolution authorizing the issuance of educational purposes tax anticipation warrants and notes RS5 resolution authorize appointment of members to lscs to fill vacancies P1 amend policy and accommodations for student religious practices vice president Gardner this amendment is necessary to include language that reflects the district's current diversity and inclusion values I'll continue with P2 amend policy on the enrollment and transfer of students vice president this amendment is necessary to provide a more Equitable enrollment process I'll continue with P3 resend and adopt a new culturally responsive education and diversity policy ru1 resent and adopt new board rule chapter 1 bylaws ex1 transfer funds October 2024 ex2 transfer funds November 2024 EX3 adjust the grade structure and attendance boundary for Falconer and the attendance boundary for celvin Park High School op1 authorize the renewal of a lease agreement with the Catholic bishop of Chicago pr1 authorized the first renewal agreement with various vendors to provide out of school time and student health and wellness products and services PR2 amend agreements with various vendors for the purchase of maintenance repair and operation supplies and personal protective equipment vice president Garner this amendment is necessary to add one new vendor to the pool I'll continue with pr3 amend the second final renewal agreement with Bureau verius technical assessments LLC and vice president Garner this amendment is necessary to authorize a 10-month extension and increase the spend I'll continue with pr4 report on the award of construction contracts and changes to construction contracts for the capital Improvement program pr5 authorize a new agreement with International Business Machines Corporation pr6 authorize a second final renewal agreement with o P Business Solutions LLC pr7 authorize a new agreement with share care operating Company Inc vice president Garner the following reports were draft on agenda and the finals will be included in the agenda of action R1 ex1 ex2 op1 and pr4 these items do require a vote is there a motion so moved is there a second so moveed I'll proceed with a roll call member Pope yes member blaz I member Janes so op1 I want to abstain from that you want to abstain from op1 and all the others yes member Thomas yes member Harden yes vice president gner yes six eyes zero Nay with the noted exstension for member yanz on op1 these matters are adopted by the board vice president Garner I'll continue with additional items on the public agenda that do not require a vote pr8 Chief procurement officer delegation of authority report for September 2024 and Chief Financial Officer report for September 2024 EX4 report on the principal contracts new ex5 report on principal contct contracts renewals A1 report on board report recisions vice president Garner these items just need to be accepted by the board please mark receiving file thank you vice president Garner I'll continue with items from the general councel that do require a vote a R2 authorized retention of the law firm esbrook PC A3 approved payment of proposed settlement regarding Elizabeth Hogan ar4 approved payment of proposed settlement regarding John Doe case number 22 l009 873 ar5 approved payment of proposed settlement regarding Michael quick AR6 approved payment of proposed settlement regarding Beverly at all AR7 approve payment of proposed settlement regarding John Doe case number 22 CV 00583 A8 approved payment of the proposed settlement regarding Kaya hudin vice president Garner these items do require a vote is there a motion so move second you're a second I'll proceed with a roll call member Pope uh yes member blae I member yanes yes member Thomas yes member Harden yes vice president Garner yes six I zero nay these matters are adopted by the board vice president Gardner I'll continue with items from the chief executive officer that do require a vote ex6 as noted on the public agenda is appoint chief officer sir so the action before the board for ex6 is transfer and appoint chief of schools elementary school network 2 effective December 16 2024 maril reelo I'll continue with ex7 as noted on the public agenda is appoint chief officer so the action before the board for ex7 is transfer and appoint chief of schools elementary school network 11 effect of December 16 2024 for Latasha Gava I'll continue with ex 8 report on principal contract new alsc ex9 report on principal contract renewal alsc and vice president Garner for the record I'd like to note an extension from board member Pope on ex9 for the principal contract renewal alsc for Jefferson High School I'll continue with EX10 warning resolution Bessie mangram 10year teacher Henry Clay Elementary School vice president Garner these items do require a vote is there a motion so moved there a second a second thank I'll proceed with a roll call member Pope with the noted extension on principal contract renewal alsc for Jefferson High School on ex9 yes on other items member blae I member yanz yes member Thomas yes member Harden yes vice president Gardner yes 6 I Zer Nay with the noted exstension for member Pope on ex9 this the these matters are adopted by the board vice president Garner I'll continue with items from the board that do require a vote RS6 resolution by the Board of Education of the city of Chicago regarding the discipline of me Bessie mangram 10e teacher assigned to Henry Clay Elementary School vice president Garner this resolution accepts the hearing officer findings and it makes additional findings as detailed in an opinion and Order adopted under separate cover on the basis of which the board concludes that Bessie mangram be reinstated and issued a warning resolution for the record I would like to note an exstension for vice president Garner on RS6 I'll continue with RS8 resolution approving chief executive officer's recommendation to dismiss educational support Personnel vice president Garner these items do require a vote is there a motion so move second please there a second can I get a second sove opposite with a roll call member Pop I member blae I member yanz yes member Thomas yes member Harden yes vice president Garner with the noted exstension on RS6 6 i z a these matters are adopted by the board with the noted extension for vice president Garner on RS6 vice president Garner I believe believe board member Thomas has motion mo2 I so move that the board adopt the minutes uh of the close of of the closed session meeting of October 24th 2024 pursuant to section 2.06 of the open meetings act the board members reviewed these minutes and determined that the need for C confidentiality exists therefore the minutes of the co- session meeting held October oober 24th 2024 shall be maintained as confidential and not be available for public inspection is there a second to the motion thank you member Pope for the mo second okay I'll with a roll call member Pope yes member blae I member yenz yes member Thomas yes member Harden I'm sorry yes vice president Gardner yes 6 I Zer nay these this motion is adopted by the board okay vice president Garner there are no further items on the public agenda thank you very much um we will now move into executive session board member po do you have a motion I moov that uh the board retired a close session it's on page 13 I'm I'm so sorry that's okay please please forgive me towards the top uh is the language for the motion uh I move for the passage of motion number 24121 12-m mo3 and the commencement of a closed session to consider matters permitted under Section 2 pen C Clos pen of the open meetings Act subsection two as specified in the motion Z second so moved I'll proceed with a roll call member Pope yes member bla I member yanes yes member Thomas yes member Harden yes vice president Garner yes 6 I zero nay this motion is adopted by the board this meeting will now go into close session e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e education is reconvened board secretary please proceed vice president I'm sorry board member Thomas I would like to note for the record that there are no items to vote on from executive session thank you is there a motion to adjourn is there a second second board MERS members all in favor I I I I ladies and gentlemen we are adjourned thank you everyone thank you everyone e